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

HSK 5

其馀的人都走了。

Qí yú de rén dōu zǒu le.

The rest of the people have all left.

HSK 5

节馀粮食给了邻居。

Jié yú liángshi 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 to 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).