How to Write 缊 (yūn) — Meaning “hemp / old cotton padding”

Picture a silk scarf (纟) wrapped around a warm (昷) bundle of old cotton. The right part 昷 looks like "sun" (日) on top of a "dish" (皿), but you can imagine sunlight warming a padded robe to remember its meaning.

The silk radical 纟 on the left should be written narrow and with three downward strokes, not too wide. The right side 昷 has a balanced structure: write the "sun" (日) above the "dish" (皿) with even spacing; the middle horizontal stroke of 皿 connects both sides. Avoid making the right side too tall or too short.

缊 (yūn) means old cotton or hemp padding, while 绠 (gěng) refers to a well rope or rope in general, and 绡 (xiāo) means raw silk or thin silk fabric. Visually, 缊 has 昷 on the right, 绠 has 更 (gèng), and 绡 has 肖 (xiāo); their pronunciations and meanings are distinct.

缊 is rarely used in everyday speech but appears in classical or literary contexts, especially in the word 缊袍 (yūn páo) meaning a robe padded with old cotton, symbolizing poverty or frugality. In modern Chinese, it is mostly seen in historical or poetic writings, not in HSK vocabulary.

Common words containing 缊 include: 缊袍 (yūn páo) — robe padded with old cotton; 缊絮 (yūn xù) — old cotton or hemp padding; 缊藉 (yūn jí) — implicit / reserved / profound.