How to Write 觜 (zī) — Meaning “beak; mouth; Turtle Beak constellation”

Imagine a turtle with a horn-like beak saying, 'This (此) is my horn (角) pecking at you!' The visual of a turtle's sharp beak helps link the parts to the meaning. Alternatively, think of the phrase 'this horn is a beak' to recall the components.

The left radical 角 has 7 strokes and the right part 此 has 6 strokes, for a total of 13. Be careful to write the left side (角) first, and do not confuse the right component 此 with similar shapes like 止. A common mistake is making the right part too narrow or forgetting the bottom horizontal stroke in 此.

觜 (zī) uses the right component 此 (this) and means beak or a constellation. 觖 (jué) has the right component 夬 and means 'to be dissatisfied' or 'to resent'. 觚 (gū) has the right component 瓜 (melon) and refers to an ancient drinking vessel. The visual differences are in the right-side radicals, so look carefully at the bottom part.

Today 觜 is rarely used in daily conversation and mainly appears in classical or astronomical contexts. Its most common use is in the term 觜宿 (zī sù), one of the 28 Lunar Mansions in traditional Chinese astronomy, representing the Turtle Beak constellation. You might also find it in old literature describing bird beaks, like 鹰觜 (eagle's beak).

Common words containing 觜 include: 觜宿 (zī sù) — Turtle Beak (Chinese constellation); 鹰觜 (yīng zī) — eagle's beak; 觜距 (zī jù) — angular distance between stars in the Turtle Beak mansion.