How to Write 愈 (yù) — Meaning “more”

Imagine a person (俞) whose heart (心) always wants 'more'—more food, more fun. The top part looks like a person with arms raised, and the heart underneath reminds you that this desire comes from inside, helping you remember 愈 means 'more'.

Write the top part 俞 first: the left side is a short horizontal stroke then a vertical hook, followed by a horizontal line and a vertical line with a small hook, then a short horizontal and two downward strokes. The bottom 心 must be written last, with its three dots—left dot, center curve stroke, right dot—spread evenly; a common mistake is making the top part too wide or forgetting the hook in the vertical stroke.

愈 (yù, 'more') has the top 俞 and bottom 心, while 㥯 (yǐn, 'hidden worry') has a different top (⺈ + 彐 + 糸) and also bottom 心, looking more complex. 恿 (yǒng, 'encourage' or 'bold') has top 甬 (yǒng, 'bell') and bottom 心, and means 'to urge' not 'more'. Visually, 愈 is simpler and more common in everyday usage.

愈 appears in words like 愈合 (yùhé, 'to heal a wound') and 愈来愈 (yùláiyù, 'more and more'), the latter being a common pattern meaning 'increasingly'. In Chinese medicine, 痊愈 (quányù, 'fully recover') is used to describe complete healing after illness, showing the character's connection to improvement and progress.

Common words containing 愈 include: 愈合 (yù hé) — to heal; 痊愈 (quán yù) — fully recover; 愈来愈 (yù lái yù) — more and more.