How to Write 赜 (zé) — Meaning “profound; abstruse (literary)”

Imagine that 赜 looks like a person (the left part 贝 as a face) with a serious expression (the right part 责 like furrowed brows) thinking deeply about a complex idea. The 15 strokes can remind you of a "profound" riddle that takes many steps to solve.

Pay attention to the left radical 贝: its bottom is a small hook, not a full curve. The right part 责 has a horizontal stroke that should be slightly longer than the top one, and the final 贝 inside 责 is narrower. Common mistake is making the right side too wide, throwing off balance.

赜 (zé) means profound and subtle, while 賏 (yīng) means a string of shells (an ancient currency) and is extremely rare. 赖 (lài) means to rely on or a surname, and has a different right component (剌). Visually, 赜 has 责 on the right, 賏 has two 贝 stacked, and 赖 has 剌 on the right.

赜 is a literary character mostly found in classical texts, academic writings, or set phrases like 探赜索隐 (to explore the profound and seek the hidden). You won't need it for daily conversation, but recognizing it helps when reading philosophy or ancient literature.

Common words containing 赜 include: 深赜 (shēn zé) — profound and subtle; 探赜 (tàn zé) — to delve into the subtle / to explore the hidden; 研赜 (yán zé) — To study profoundly.