How to Write 痔 (zhì) — Meaning “hemorrhoids”

Imagine a sick person (疒) sitting uncomfortably on a hard temple floor (寺) because of hemorrhoids — this visual links the illness radical with the temple sound component. The image of someone wincing at a temple helps you recall both the meaning (a painful ailment) and the reading zhì.

Start with the left-side radical 疒: first write the dot on top, then the horizontal stroke, then the left-falling stroke, and finally the two inner strokes. The inside part 寺 must be centered and narrower than the radical, and a common mistake is leaving out the small dot at the top-left of 疒.

The character 疣 (yóu) means "wart" — it uses 疒 plus 尤 (especially), while 疤 (bā) means "scar" and uses 疒 plus 巴 (to stick). In contrast, 痔 (zhì) uses 疒 plus 寺, and refers specifically to hemorrhoids (internal or external), not skin growths or scars.

The character 痔 appears mainly in medical contexts, such as in the common word 痔疮 (zhì chuāng, hemorrhoids). It is used by doctors, in hospital reports, and in pharmacy descriptions, though some people may avoid saying it directly due to embarrassment and instead use euphemisms like 那个病 (that illness).

Common words containing 痔 include: 痔疮 (zhì chuāng) — hemorrhoids; piles; 内痔 (nèi zhì) — internal hemorrhoids; 外痔 (wài zhì) — external hemorrhoids.