How to Write 郁 (yù) — Meaning “gloomy / lush / fragrant”

Imagine a place (阝) that is very gloomy and overgrown with lush grass. The right side looks like 有 (to have), so think: "at that place, there is (有) gloom and lush growth." This connects the meaning of gloom and lushness to the character’s shape.

The stroke order is: horizontal fold hook, horizontal, horizontal, vertical, horizontal fold, horizontal, horizontal, vertical. Pay attention to the left radical 阝: first write the horizontal fold hook, then the vertical stroke. A common mistake is making the right side 有 too wide—keep it balanced so the whole character is not stretched. The bottom of 有 should align roughly with the bottom of 阝.

郁 (yù) means gloomy, lush, or fragrant, while 邠 (bīn) is an ancient place name (now used rarely), and 邡 (fāng) is also a place name (often in 什邡, a city in Sichuan). Visually, 郁 has 有 on the right, whereas 邠 has 分 (fēn) and 邡 has 方 (fāng). Their meanings are unrelated—only 郁 is used for emotions and plant descriptions.

郁 appears in common words like 忧郁 (yōuyù, depressed) and 葱郁 (cōngyù, lush and green). It is also in 郁金香 (yùjīnxiāng, tulip), a popular flower name. In Chinese culture, 忧郁 describes a poetic melancholy often found in classical literature, while 葱郁 is used to describe vibrant forests or gardens.

Common words containing 郁 include: 郁金香 (yù jīn xiāng) — tulip; 忧郁 (yōu yù) — Depressed; melancholy; 葱郁 (cōng yù) — lush and green.