How to Write 哳 (zhā) — Meaning “Chirp (sound of birds)”

Imagine a bird opening its beak (口) and making a sudden, sharp "ZHA!" sound, as if breaking the silence. The right part 折 looks like a hand (扌) chopping an axe (斤), which can remind you of a loud, cutting chirp.

Write the left radical 口 small and compact, using 3 strokes. The right part 折 has 7 strokes: start with the hand radical (扌), then add 斤 (ax); the final vertical line on 斤 should be straight and slightly longer than the left side. A common mistake is making 口 too large; the left should be about one-third the width of the whole character.

哳 specifically describes the chirping of birds, often discordant, while 呢 (ne) is a grammatical particle used for questions or softening statements, and 呣 (m̀/móu) is an interjection expressing hesitation or agreement. Visually, 哳 has 折 on the right, 呢 has 尼 (corpse + spoon), and 呣 has 毋 (like 母 without dots).

哳 is very rare in daily life; it appears mainly in literary or classical Chinese, especially in the compound 啁哳 (zhāo zhā) to describe noisy or chaotic bird chirping. You might encounter it in ancient poetry or descriptive nature writing, but not in common conversation or HSK exams.

Common words containing 哳 include: 啁哳 (zhāo zhā) — chirping / twittering (often noisy or discordant); 哳哳 (zhā zhā) — Chirping sound; 喧哳 (xuān zhā) — Noisy and loud.