How to Write 窳 (yǔ) — Meaning “inferior / bad / corrupt”

Imagine a cave (穴) that is so bad and rotten that the word "yuck" (sounds like yǔ) comes to mind when you enter it. The bottom part looks like a messy pile of garbage, reinforcing the idea of inferior quality.

Start by writing the cave radical (穴) which covers the top, then write the bottom part 㕜 carefully — note that the left side of 㕜 is like 瓜 with a short stroke, and the right side is 攵. Common mistakes include making the bottom too wide or misplacing the dot inside 穴; keep the whole character balanced and compact.

窟 (kū) means cave or hole, and 窠 (kē) means a nest or den; both are neutral nouns. In contrast, 窳 (yǔ) is an adjective meaning inferior, corrupt, or of poor quality, and is used to describe something defective or decayed, not a physical location.

窳 is a literary character, rarely used in daily speech, but appears in formal or written Chinese to describe poor quality (窳劣) or corruption (窳败). It often carries a classical tone and may be found in historical texts or critiques of social decay.

Common words containing 窳 include: 窳陋 (yǔ lòu) — crude / inferior; 窳劣 (yǔ liè) — inferior / of poor quality; 窳败 (yǔ bài) — corrupt / decayed.