How to Write 瘐 (yǔ) — Meaning “to die of illness or hunger in prison”

Imagine a prisoner locked in a cell (the radical 疒 looks like a roof over a sickbed) and the part 臾 sounds like "you" — so "you" are sick and starving in prison. This image connects the character to its meaning of dying in prison from illness or hunger.

Write the radical 疒 first: dot, dot, left-falling, left-falling, dot. Then inside, write 臾: horizontal stroke, vertical, two horizontals, then two left-falling and one right-falling. A common mistake is adding an extra horizontal stroke in the middle of 臾 — it has exactly two horizontals there.

Visually, 瘐 has 臾 inside, 疵 has 此 (a different component), and 痊 has 全. In meaning, 瘐 refers to dying in prison from illness or hunger, while 疵 means a flaw or blemish, and 痊 means to recover from illness. Their usage contexts are completely different.

This character is very rare in daily life and appears mostly in historical or legal texts describing prison deaths. The word 瘐死 (yǔ sǐ) can be found in news reports about poor prison conditions or in historical records. It is not used in casual conversation or modern HSK vocabulary.

Common words containing 瘐 include: 瘐死 (yǔ sǐ) — to die in prison of illness or hunger; 瘐毙 (yǔ bì) — to die in prison of illness or hunger; 瘐困 (yǔ kùn) — sick and exhausted in prison.