HanziGuru.伤 · shāng
伤
shāng[shang1]Tone 1

to injure, injury, wound

HSK 3
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傷
Guru Deep Dive

English · to injure, injury, wound

Cached lesson
1 / 1
Topology:Left-right
Strokes:13
Writing Balance Rule: The left side (person radical) is narrower and lighter, while the right side is wider and carries more stroke complexity. Keep the right side balanced and well-spaced so it does not collapse into the left.
Simplification Logic: Simplified from 傷 by replacing the complex traditional right component with a simplified phonetic component while retaining the person radical on the left.
1. Meaning

to injure or wound

harmdistressfeel hurt or sad
Verb / NounNeutral#health#emotions#violence
Sample Usage
  • 他受伤了。
    Tā shōushāng le.
    He got injured.
  • 不要伤害别人。
    Bùyào shānghài biérén.
    Do not hurt other people.
2. Sound
/[ʂɑŋ⁵⁵]/Tone: 55
伤
shāngshang1
++
¯(55)
=shāng
Initial Consonant
sh
Type: Retroflex Fricative
Sounds like: sh sound with retroflex tongue position
UnaspiratedRetroflex
Airflow Tactile Test: Hollow wind sound through curled tongue channel.
Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip curled back near the hard palate
Final Rhyme
ang
Vowel Group: -a vowel group
Sounds like: -ang rhymes with 'ong' in song but with an open 'ah' vowel sound
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'ahng'.
Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.
Tone
T1 (55)
1st Tone (High-Flat)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 1 is a high, steady pitch, similar to the sustained high note when singing or saying 'ah' at the doctor's office.
👂
Listening trap: Confusing the retroflex initial 'sh-' with the alveolar 's-' sound (saying 'sāng' instead of 'shāng').
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: Keep your hand flat and steady at eye level, making a straight horizontal line to represent the high level pitch of Tone 1.
3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 13 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left side (person radical) is narrower and lighter, while the right side is wider and carries more stroke complexity. Keep the right side balanced and well-spaced so it does not collapse into the left.

Simplification Logic: Simplified from 傷 by replacing the complex traditional right component with a simplified phonetic component while retaining the person radical on the left.

4. Components

Radical 亻 · Person Radical (human, person)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 亻 (indicates an injury happening to a person)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 𠬞 (original sound: shang)

A person (亻) encounters sharp weapons or harsh arrows, resulting in an injury or wound.

  • 亻 person
  • 𠬞 phonetic and semantic hint of harm or weapons
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally combined a person element with indicators of weapons or piercing objects signifying physical harm done to a human body.

Semantic Evolution: Expanded from physical cuts and bleeding wounds to include emotional hurt, grief, and general damage or impairment.

  • The traditional form 傷 contains an older phonetic structure reflecting ancient weapon terminology.
6. Sinosphere
🇻🇳
Sino-Vietnamese
thương
Thương in Sino-Vietnamese corresponds to the Mandarin shāng sound.
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: ショウ (shō) / Kun: きず (kizu)
🇰🇷
Hanja (Korean)
상
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story

A person (亻) gets a sharp wound that makes them cry 'Shhh!' (shāng) from the pain.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
汤
tāngsoupReplaces the person radical with water (氵), representing boiling soup instead of injury.
场
chǎngfield / open spaceReplaces the person radical with earth (土), representing a flat piece of ground.
Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
汤(tāng)
汤 has the water radical (氵) for liquid soup; 伤 has the person radical (亻) for human injury.
商(shāng)
商 means commerce and uses a roof element at the top, whereas 伤 starts with a person on the left.
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge
他不小心把手弄[___]了。
Clue: shāng
Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the left radical with other similar radicals like 氵 (water) or forgetting the correct stroke order on the complex right-hand side.

Memory Prompts
Recognition: What does 伤 mean and how is it pronounced?
Production: How do you write the character for 'to injure' (shāng)?
Real-World Video Context

Watch authentic native speakers pronounce and explain this word in real-world YouTube videos.

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