How to Write 潴 (zhū) — Meaning “to stagnate or accumulate (of water)”

Picture a pig (猪) sitting in a pool of water (氵), causing the water to become muddy and still. The image of a pig blocking the flow of water helps you remember that 潴 means 'to stagnate' or 'accumulate.' This combines the character's two parts into a simple visual story.

Write the water radical (氵) first on the left with three strokes: dot, dot, then a short upward flick. Then write the right part 猪 carefully — start with the 犭 (dog radical, 3 strokes) and finish with 者 (8 strokes). A common mistake is to make the right side too tall or to forget the dot in 者, so keep both halves balanced at the same height.

潴 (zhū) means 'stagnant water' and has a right side that looks like a pig (猪). 渝 (yú) means 'to change' and has the right component 俞. 渡 (dù) means 'to cross (water)' and uses 度 on the right. Visually, the right parts are different, and their meanings are unrelated to stagnation.

潴 is rarely used in daily conversation but appears in medical and technical terms, such as 潴留 (zhū liú, 'fluid retention') in medicine. It can also describe stagnant water in geography or hydrology. You might see it in formal reports or textbooks, but most Chinese speakers would need to look it up.

Common words containing 潴 include: 潴留 (zhū liú) — retention or accumulation (of fluids); 潴积 (zhū jī) — accumulation or stagnation; 潴水 (zhū shuǐ) — stagnant water.