疟 (nüè) is a Chinese character meaning “malaria”. It is written from 疒 (sickness radical (a person lying on a bed)) and ㇐ (horizontal stroke) and ㇗ (vertical-turning stroke) and ㇐ (horizontal stroke), one enclosing the other, and takes 8 strokes. It has a second reading, yào, which turns up in 疟子 — here the two readings are two separate things to learn, not one card with two answers.
Build the character for “malaria”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
疒 + ㇐ + ㇗ + ㇐
Enclosing structure
- 疒 sickness radical (a person lying on a bed) · nè meaning
- ㇐ horizontal stroke unknown
- ㇗ vertical-turning stroke unknown
- ㇐ horizontal stroke unknown
Structure from: 现代字形拆分，经 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 笔画几何核验（疒 5 笔 + 内部 横/竖折/横 3 笔 = 疟 8 笔）；内部三笔为 瘧→疟 简化后的记号，无独立成字部件，故按真实笔画建槽
Memory aid
疒 is the sickness frame — someone lying on a bed. Inside it, a ㇐, a ㇗ and another ㇐ stack up like the jagged fever chart hanging at the foot of that bed: temperature up, down, up again. That on-off fever is exactly what this illness does.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 疟疾nüè jímalaria疟 = nüè
Go deeper
All readings
malaria
malaria; an illness with recurring bouts of chills and fever (used in 疟疾)
疟疾，由蚊子传播、周期性发冷发热的急性传染病。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 疟疾nüè jímalaria疟 = nüè
malaria (colloquial, only in 疟子)
malaria — colloquial northern reading, used only in the word 疟子
疟疾的口语说法，只用于「疟子」。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 疟子yào zimalaria (colloquial)疟 = yào
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 疟 mean?
疟 (nüè) means malaria; an illness with recurring bouts of chills and fever (used in 疟疾).
How do you pronounce 疟?
Its main reading is nüè. It also has a second reading, yào, which only shows up in certain words such as 疟子 — so the word tells you the reading, not the character on its own.
Why is 疟 sometimes pronounced yào?
Because it is a multi-reading character: each reading carries a different sense, and the word decides which one applies. In 疟子 it is read yào.
What parts is 疟 made of?
疒 (sickness radical (a person lying on a bed)) and ㇐ (horizontal stroke) and ㇗ (vertical-turning stroke) and ㇐ (horizontal stroke), one enclosing the other. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分，经 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 笔画几何核验（疒 5 笔 + 内部 横/竖折/横 3 笔 = 疟 8 笔）；内部三笔为 瘧→疟 简化后的记号，无独立成字部件，故按真实笔画建槽. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 疟 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 疟?
疒. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 疟?
Common ones are 疟疾. The reading of 疟 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.