How to Write 郧 (yún) — Meaning “Yun (a surname / place name)”

Imagine a person (员) standing on a small hill (阝) in a place called Yun County. The left side looks like a hill, and the right side looks like a person with a mouth (口) and money (贝) — think of a traveler visiting the town of Yun.

Write the left radical 阝 first with two strokes (a short horizontal then a vertical curve). Then write 员: first the top square 口 (3 strokes), then 贝 (4 strokes starting with a vertical stroke). Be careful not to confuse the left radical 阝 with the right radical 卩 — 郧 uses the left version.

The main difference is that 郧 has the radical 阝 on the left, while 邮 (yóu) and 邯 (hán) have it on the right. 郧 means a place name or surname, 邮 means post or mail, and 邯 is used in the city name 邯郸 (Handan). Visually, the right parts are also different: 员 vs. 由 vs. 甘.

郧 is mostly used in place names, such as 郧县 (Yun County) and 郧阳 (Yunyang District) in Hubei province. It is also a very rare surname. You will not see it in everyday conversation — it appears mainly on maps or in historical contexts.

Common words containing 郧 include: 郧县 (yún xiàn) — Yun County; 郧阳 (yún yáng) — Yunyang (a district in Hubei); 姓郧 (xìng yún) — Surname Yun.