How to Write 卮 (zhī) — Meaning “ancient wine vessel; goblet”

Imagine the character looks like a wine glass with a round bowl on top and a narrow stem at the bottom. The sound "zhī" can remind you of "ghee" served in a cup. Picture pouring wine into this unique glass to remember the shape.

Start with a left-falling stroke, then a horizontal hook, then a vertical hook on the left. Next write a short horizontal line, and finish with a vertical hook that curves left. A common mistake is making the bottom part (卩) too wide or forgetting to connect the top and bottom strokes smoothly.

卮 has a curved top with a hook and a bottom shape like a seal (卩), while 卫 (guard) is more rectangular and has an extra horizontal line inside. 卬 (look up) looks like a person standing with a horizontal bar on top, whereas 卮 always starts with a left-falling stroke forming a lid. Visually, 卮 is the only one that suggests a drinking vessel.

卮 is a classical character rarely used in everyday modern Chinese. It appears in historical texts and idioms such as 卮言 (random talk, literally wine-cup speech) and 酒卮 (wine goblet). In ancient times, these vessels were used in ceremonial drinking, so the character carries a refined, literary feel.

Common words containing 卮 include: 酒卮 (jiǔ zhī) — Zhi (an ancient wine cup); 卮言 (zhī yán) — unrestrained speech; random talk; 漏卮 (lòu zhī) — Leaking wine cup.