How to Write 稚 (zhì) — Meaning “young; childish”

Imagine a young bird (隹) sitting on a fresh grain stalk (禾) — the bird is still childish and inexperienced. This picture of a naive bird on a tender plant helps you recall that 稚 means young or childish.

Write the left radical 禾 first (5 strokes), then the right side 隹 (8 strokes). Keep the right side’s vertical strokes evenly spaced, and avoid making the entire character too wide. A common mistake is miswriting the first stroke of 隹 as a horizontal instead of a short left-falling stroke.

While 秸 (jiē, straw) and 移 (yí, to move) also contain 禾, only 稚 has 隹 on the right and specifically relates to youth and naivety. Visually, 稚 has a bird component, whereas 秸 has 吉 and 移 has 多, giving each a distinct meaning.

稚 appears in words like 幼稚 (childish) and 幼稚园 (kindergarten), often with a mild, sometimes affectionate, sense of immaturity. It is used for children, young animals, or naive behavior, and can carry a literary or poetic tone when describing innocence.

Common words containing 稚 include: 幼稚 (yòu zhì) — Childish; 稚气 (zhì qì) — childishness; naive; 幼稚园 (yòu zhì yuán) — Kindergarten.