衄 meaning and stroke order
A bloody nose; to be defeated
How to write 衄, stroke by stroke
10 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 衄
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to bleed from the nose (or from the ears, gums etc)
- fig. to be defeated
- old variant of 衄[nu:4]
- variant of 衄[nu:4]
How 衄 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. To be shamed 丑 by a bloody 血 nose.
Radical: 血 (blood), shared by 5 characters on this site.
How to remember 衄
Picture blood 血 (xuè) next to 丑 (chǒu), which suggests shame: being shamed by a bloody nose. A bloody nose in a fight also means you lost, which gives the figurative sense of defeat.
衄 is a formal or medical word, mostly seen in compounds rather than alone. The medical term 鼻衄 (bínǜ) means nosebleed, and in written Chinese 败衄 (bàinǜ) means to suffer defeat. Example: 他经常鼻衄。(Tā jīngcháng bínǜ.) He often gets nosebleeds.
Common mistake: Learners often read it as niǔ or chǒu because of the 丑 component, but the correct reading is nǜ, with ü and a fourth tone. When typing pinyin, enter it as nv4 or nu:4, not nu.
Questions about 衄
How many strokes are in 衄?
衄 is written with 10 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 衄 mean?
衄 (nǜ) means a bloody nose; to be defeated.
How do you pronounce 衄?
衄 is pronounced nǜ, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 衄?
The radical of 衄 is 血, which carries the idea of "blood". Dictionaries list 衄 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 衄?
The traditional form of 衄 is 䶊 and 衂. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 衄 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Do Chinese people say 衄 when they get a nosebleed?
Not usually in everyday speech. People normally say 流鼻血 (liú bíxiě). 鼻衄 sounds clinical and is used by doctors or in writing.
Can 衄 refer to bleeding from places other than the nose?
Yes. In traditional Chinese medicine it covers bleeding from the ears, gums, or skin too, as in 齿衄 (chǐnǜ), bleeding gums. The nose is still the most common meaning.