Writing Balance Rule: The character stretches slightly horizontally and diagonally; ensure the final sweeping tail stroke balances the top hook nicely.
1. Meaning
long duration of time
for a long timeago
Adjective / AdverbNeutral#time#duration
Sample Usage
好久不见
hǎo jiǔ bú jiàn
Long time no see
等了很久
děng le hěn jiǔ
Waited for a long time
2. Sound
/[tɕiou̯²¹⁴]/Tone: 214
久
jiǔjiu3
|
++
ˇ(214)
=jiǔ
Initial Consonant
j
Type: Unaspirated Alveolo-Palatal
Sounds like: soft j sound like in 'jeep' but with tongue blade against hard palate
Unaspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: No air puff. Lips spread wide like smiling.
Tongue & Mouth Position: Front of tongue pressed lightly against the back of the lower teeth, middle of tongue raised toward the hard palate.
Final Rhyme
iu
Vowel Group: -i vowel group
Sounds like: -iou rhymes with 'yew' or 'pew'
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'yo'.
Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.
Abbreviated Rhyme Rule: iu is short for iou, with the 'o' acting as a medial glide.
Tone
T3 (214)
2 → 1 → 4 (214)
3rd Tone (Low-Dipping)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 3 dips low like a skeptical English 'Really?' or 'Huh?'.
Sandhi: When followed by another 3rd tone, jiǔ shifts to a 2nd tone (raising 35).
👂
Listening trap: Do not confuse it with 救 (jiù - to save) which uses the sharp falling 4th tone.
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: Trace a V-shaped checkmark in the air: start medium-high, dip down low to your chest, and sweep back up high.
3. Writing
Topology: Single character · Strokes: 3 strokes
Writing Balance Rule: The character stretches slightly horizontally and diagonally; ensure the final sweeping tail stroke balances the top hook nicely.
4. Components
Radical丿 · Slash Radical (slash or stroke)
Originally depicted a person standing with a restrictive brace or leaning back, stretching out over time.
丿 slanting top stroke
乙 z-like trailing body
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
5· Phonetic Root: 久 (jiǔ)
5. History
Liushu category: Indicative (指事)
Origin: In Oracle Bone scripts, it was an ideographic drawing of a person whose back or legs are constrained or dragging behind, symbolizing a slow, protracted process or a long journey extending through time.
Semantic Evolution: From a physical dragging or constraint over time to the abstract concept of a 'long duration' of time.
It has maintained its core meaning of prolonged duration for over three millennia.
6. Sinosphere
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: キュウ、 ク / Kun: ひさ.しい
🇰🇷
Hanja (Korean)
구
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story
Imagine a person leaning on a walking stick for a very LONG time (久), waiting out the hours.
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
灸
jiǔmoxibustionAdd fire (火) at the bottom: applying fire over a long time for healing.
Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
及(jí)
及 has a vertical stroke passing through (reaching/catch up), whereas 久 has a hooked tail (long time).
夕(xī)
夕 means evening and lacks the bottom hook extending to the right.
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge
我们好[___]不见了。
Clue: jiǔ
Common Learner Pitfall
Confusing the stroke order of the top slash versus the horizontal/hook stroke, or confusing it with 及 (jí).
Memory Prompts
Recognition: When you see 久, what does it mean regarding time?
Production: How do you write the character for a 'long' time in Chinese with Pinyin jiǔ?
Real-World Video Context
Watch authentic native speakers pronounce and explain this word in real-world YouTube videos.
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久jiǔlong (time)
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