肀

yù

noun

Meanings

1 writing brush; stylus - a clipped form of 聿 (archaic)
2 indexing component called 聿字头 (yùzìtóu, 'yù-character top') in modern dictionaries

Characters

肀

yù

brush-head component (clipped from 聿)

Tips

history

肀 is a clipped form of 聿, the original character for 'writing brush' - oracle bones drew a hand gripping a stylus. When 聿 sits on top of another character, the bottom stroke is dropped and only the four-stroke 肀 'brush head' remains. It has no independent reading in everyday use; the yù pronunciation is borrowed from 聿.

usage

You meet 肀 stacked on top of common characters: 书 (book), 尽 (exhaust), 画 (draw), 肃 (solemn), 唐 (Tang). In each it carries a faint echo of 'writing / inscribing with a brush', though the modern simplified shapes (especially 书) preserve only the silhouette.

Components

pictograph

肀 yù

brush-head; clipped 聿

Self-component, called 聿字头 (yù-character top) in modern dictionaries. Clips off the lower hand stroke of 聿 and keeps only the brush-tip and the gripping fingers - a vertical stylus crossed by short horizontals. Treated as indivisible; the 彐+丨 split would be basic-stroke decomposition. Heads the brush family in 书, 尽, 画, 肃, 唐.

Stroke Order