聿

contributes the sense of writing with a brush · Kangxi radical 129

contributes the sense of writing with a brush, and by extension of rules, records and formal establishment

聿 is a picture of a hand gripping a writing brush: the top part, the same shape as 彐, is the fingers and wrist, and the long vertical stroke that runs down through them is the brush itself, with the short strokes crossing it showing the hand's grasp. When 聿 stopped being used on its own for "brush," a bamboo top was added to make 筆, since brushes have bamboo handles. You can still see the writing hand inside 建, which is setting something down in writing to establish it, and in 律, the written statute; in 肆, 肇 and 肄 the shape is squeezed and partly reshaped, but the brush stroke down the middle is the same element.

聿 at a glance

Meaning

contributes the sense of writing with a brush

Strokes

6

Characters

11

Role

Usually contributes meaning

Kangxi radical

129

Characters with 聿 (6 of 11)

Frequently asked questions