How to Write 聿 (yù) — Meaning “writing brush (ancient); a particle”

Think of the sound "yù" as similar to "you" — imagine you are holding a brush to write a letter. Picture the character's shape as a vertical stick (the brush handle) with three horizontal lines (the bristles) and a loop at the top for your hand. This visual trick ties the form to the meaning.

The stroke order is: horizontal, vertical, horizontal, horizontal, vertical, horizontal. Keep the middle vertical stroke tall and straight, and make the final horizontal the longest to balance the character. A common mistake is writing the middle strokes too short, which makes the character look squashed.

聿 has 6 strokes and a simpler structure with only horizontal and vertical lines, while 肃 has 8 strokes and includes additional strokes like a hook and a dot. Visually, 肃 appears more complex with an extra "box" shape at the lower right. In meaning, 聿 is an ancient word for brush or a particle, whereas 肃 means solemn or respectful in modern Chinese.

聿 is rarely used in daily modern Chinese and is not part of the HSK vocabulary. It appears mainly in classical texts, personal names, or in calligraphy contexts to refer to a writing brush. A cultural note: Though ancient, 聿 is the original form from which the more common character 笔 (bǐ) for "pen" was derived.

Common words containing 聿 include: 聿 (yù) — writing brush (ancient); a particle; 聿修 (yù xiū) — to cultivate one's virtue (classical); 聿怀 (yù huái) — to cherish or think of (classical).