How to Write 逐 (zhú) — Meaning “To chase / One by one”

Imagine a pig (豕) running away while you are walking (辶) quickly behind it — you are chasing it. The pig's curly tail (the last stroke of 豕) can remind you that chasing is an active, quick movement.

Write the top part 豕 first: horizontal, left-falling, horizontal hook, then vertical hook, then two left-falling strokes (total 6 strokes). Then add the walking radical 辶 last, which has three strokes: dot, horizontal left-falling, and vertical left-falling. A common mistake is making the 豕 too wide or forgetting the dot in 辶.

The key difference is the inner part: 逐 contains 豕 (pig), while 迢 contains 召 (meaning 'call') and 迤 contains 也 (meaning 'also'). Visually, 迢 has a flatter top, and 迤 has a loop-like stroke inside. In usage, 逐 means 'to chase' or 'gradually', while 迢 means 'distant' (e.g., 迢迢) and 迤 means 'winding' (e.g., 迤逦).

逐 is very common in formal or written Chinese, especially in the words 逐渐 (gradually) and 逐步 (step by step). It also appears in the verb 追逐 (to pursue). A cultural reference is the idiom 逐鹿中原 (chase the deer on the central plain), which metaphorically means contending for power or leadership.

Common words containing 逐 include: 逐渐 (zhú jiàn) — Gradually / Little by little; 逐步 (zhú bù) — Step by step / Gradually; 追逐 (zhuī zhú) — to pursue; to chase.