厄 meaning and stroke order
Adversity, difficulty, distress
How to write 厄, stroke by stroke
4 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Meaning of 厄
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- distressed
- variant of 厄[e4]
How 厄 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. A person 㔾 being crushed under pressure 厂.
Radical: 厂 (cliff), shared by 29 characters on this site.
How to remember 厄
Picture a kneeling person 㔾 trapped under a cliff overhang 厂, being pressed down from above. That crushed, stuck feeling is 厄 (è), adversity and distress.
厄 is a formal, literary character and rarely stands alone in speech. You mostly meet it in set words like 厄运 (èyùn, bad luck) and 困厄 (kùn'è, hardship). Example: 他终于摆脱了厄运。(Tā zhōngyú bǎituō le èyùn.) He finally escaped his bad luck.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 厄 with 危 (wēi, danger), which has an extra 'person' stroke group on top. Remember that 厄 is just 厂 with 㔾 tucked inside, with nothing above the cliff.
Common words with 厄
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 厄运 | èyùn | bad luck; misfortune | HSK 7-9 |
厄 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 厄
Learning 厄 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 厄
How many strokes are in 厄?
厄 is written with 4 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 厄 mean?
厄 (è) means adversity, difficulty, distress. A common word with it is 厄运 (èyùn), meaning "bad luck; misfortune".
How do you pronounce 厄?
厄 is pronounced è, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 厄?
The radical of 厄 is 厂, which carries the idea of "cliff". Dictionaries list 厄 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 厄?
The traditional form of 厄 is 戹. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 厄 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 厄 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 厄 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 厄运 and 倒霉?
Both mean bad luck, but 厄运 (èyùn) is formal and serious, often used in writing for real misfortune. 倒霉 (dǎoméi) is casual and used in everyday speech for small annoyances.
Is 厄 used in any well-known phrases?
Yes. A common one is 在劫难逃 for fate in general, but with 厄 specifically you will see 遭受厄运 (zāoshòu èyùn, to suffer misfortune) and 困厄 (kùn'è, to be in dire straits). These appear mostly in news and literature.