How to Write 谪 (zhé) — Meaning “to banish; to demote”

Imagine the emperor's speech bubble (讠) telling a minister, "You are dismissed!" and the minister falls like a drip (啇, the drop part of 滴). So 谪 is the official word that makes you drop into exile.

Write the left radical 讠 first: dot, horizontal fold, then vertical hook. Then the right side 啇: top dot and horizontal, then 口, then outer box 冂, and finally 古 inside. A common mistake is confusing 啇 with 商—remember 啇 has 古 at the bottom, not 八 and 口.

谪 means to banish or demote, 谋 means to plan or scheme, and 谌 means sincere or honest. Visually, 谪 has 啇 on the right (like a drop), 谋 has 某 (a tree and sweet), and 谌 has 甚 (very). The meanings are completely unrelated despite sharing the 讠 radical.

谪 is rare in modern daily speech and mainly appears in historical or literary works, especially when describing ancient officials punished by exile. The term 谪仙 (banished immortal) is a classical nickname for the poet Li Bai, implying his divine talent was sent down to earth.

Common words containing 谪 include: 贬谪 (biǎn zhé) — To banish / To exile (historical context); 谪居 (zhé jū) — to live in exile; 谪仙 (zhé xiān) — banished immortal.