馀 (yú): variant of 余

Meanings

1 variant of 余
2 remainder; surplus
3 surname Yu

Characters

馀

yú

remainder; surplus (variant of 余)

Examples

其馀的人都走了。

Qí yú de rén dōu zǒu le.

The rest of the people have all left.

节馀粮食给了邻居。

Jié yú liángshí gěi le línjū.

He gave the leftover grain to the neighbors.

Tips

usage

馀 is the traditional/orthographic variant of 余 (yú) used to mean 'remainder' or 'surplus'. In simplified Chinese it normally collapses to 余, but 馀 is retained when ambiguity with 余 ('I/me') matters, especially in formal or classical contexts.

memory

Think of 馀 as 'food (饣) + I (余)' — what is left over after I have eaten — i.e. the remainder.

Components

radical

饣 shí

food (left radical form of 食)

Left food radical, the side-form of 食 — three condensed strokes evoking a covered food vessel. The indexing element. Marks 馀 as a food-quantity word: leftovers from the meal, surplus grain in the storehouse. Same family as 饭 cooked rice, 饱 full, 饥 hungry, 饺 dumpling — the eating cluster.

phonetic

余 yú

remainder; I (here phonetic)

Right 余 supplies the sound directly: yú → yú. Carries the meaning too — 余 itself means 'remainder, surplus.' 馀 is the food-marked variant: leftover food. Modern Mainland writing collapses 馀 back to 余, keeping this version only where ambiguity matters (math 余数 vs. food 馀粮).