How to Write 鹧 (zhè) — Meaning “partridge”

Think of 者 meaning "this" or "the one who" — so 鹧 is "this bird" that says "zhe zhe." You can imagine a partridge walking along and repeating its own name: "zhe-zhe."

Write the left part 者 first, then the right part 鸟. A common mistake is forgetting the small dot inside 鸟 — it looks like a bird's eye, so do not skip it. Also keep the left and right sides balanced so the character does not look tilted.

鹧 (zhè) means partridge, while 鹕 (hú) means pelican and 鹗 (è) means fish eagle. The left parts are different: 鹧 has 者, 鹕 has 胡, and 鹗 has 咢. All share the bird radical 鸟 on the right, so focus on the left component to tell them apart.

鹧 is rarely used alone in daily conversation, but it appears in the name 鹧鸪 (partridge) and in the poetic melody title 鹧鸪天 (Partridge Sky), a famous form in classical Chinese poetry. It is also found in 鹧鸪菜, a type of medicinal seaweed.

Common words containing 鹧 include: 鹧鸪 (zhè gū) — partridge; 鹧鸪菜 (zhè gū cài) — a type of medicinal seaweed (Caloglossa); 鹧鸪天 (zhè gū tiān) — Partridge Sky (name of a poetic melody).