How to Write 彸 (zhōng) — Meaning “agitated; restless”

Imagine a person (radical 彳) who feels uneasy and can only pace in the middle (中) of a room. The pinyin zhōng sounds like "zone," so picture someone stuck in a restless zone.

The left radical 彳 must be written narrow and with three strokes: two left-falling strokes followed by a vertical line. The right part 中 has a vertical stroke that goes straight through the center; common mistakes include making the left part too wide or misaligning the vertical of 中.

All three share the radical 彳, but their right sides differ: 彸 uses 中 (middle), 彷 uses 方 (square), and 役 uses 殳 (weapon). Meaning-wise, 彸 means agitated or restless, 彷 means to wander or hesitate, and 役 means labor or service.

彸 is a very rare character, mostly found in classical literature or poetic descriptions of emotional unease. It appears in words like 彸彸 (restless) and 惊彸 (startled and nervous), but you will not hear it in everyday conversation.

Common words containing 彸 include: 彸彸 (zhōng zhōng) — restless; uneasy; 彸惶 (zhōng huáng) — agitated and apprehensive; 惊彸 (jīng zhōng) — Startled and nervous.