俱 (jù) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

俱

jù[ju4]Tone 4

all, both, entirely, together

HSK 5

Guru Deep Dive

English · all, both, entirely, together

Cached lesson

1 / 1

Topology:Left-right

Strokes:10

Writing Balance Rule: The left side (eye radical 目) is narrower, while the right side (property/tool radical 具) is wider and bears more complex horizontal strokes. Keep the vertical center line balanced.

1. Meaning

all or both without exception

to be togetherto be alike or identical

AdverbLiteraryBound morpheme#totality#association#literary

Sample Usage

万事俱备
wàn shì jù bèi
all is ready (literally: ten thousand matters all prepared)
声泪俱下
shēng lèi jù xià
weeping and speaking at the same time (literally: voice and tears both descending)

2. Sound

/[t͡ɕy˥˩]/Tone: 51

俱

jùju4

`(51)

=jù

Initial Consonant

Type: Unaspirated Alveolo-Palatal

Sounds like: j sound as in jeep

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: No air puff. Lips spread wide like smiling.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Blade of the tongue touches the hard palate while the tip rests behind the lower front teeth.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -v vowel group

Sounds like: rounded ee sound (like German ü or French u)

Note: Written as 'u', pronounced as rounded 'ü' [y].

Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'ü'.

Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.

Tone

T4 (51)

5 → 1 (51)

4th Tone (High-Falling)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 4 starts high and drops abruptly to the bottom, like a definitive command or an angry 'No!'.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the rounded front vowel 'ü' with the back vowel 'u' (oo). Remember that 'ju' uses the rounded 'ü' sound, similar to the French 'u' in 'tu'.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A sharp, firm karate chop downwards from head height to chest level, matching the abrupt drop of Tone 4.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 10 strokes

4. Components

Radical 目 · Eye Radical (eye, vision)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 目 (denotes seeing or gathering with one's eyes)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 具 (original sound: jù)

People gathered together under one roof, looking at each other with their eyes (目), using tools and provisions (具) to prepare everything.

目 Eye, representing people observing together
具 Tool or utensil, providing the phonetic sound 'jù'

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

6· Phonetic Root: 具 (jù)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally combined '具' (utensils/together) with '目' (eye) to signify all eyes turning toward one gathering, evolving into the concept of totality and completeness.

Semantic Evolution: Shifted from physical gathering of eyes and items to an abstract adverb meaning 'all', 'entirely', or 'both'.

Frequently used in Classical Chinese texts and idioms (chengyu) to convey grand totals or simultaneous actions.

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: グ

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

구

Sound Shift Bridge: Shared Sinitic root across East Asian literary compounds expressing completeness.

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

All the tools (具) and all eyes (目) are gathered together in one room; without exception (俱), everything is ready for the grand party.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

具

jùtool, equipmentBase phonetic component without the eye radical.

惧

jùfearReplaces the left side with the heart radical (忄) for emotional fear.

飓

jùhurricaneAdds the wind enclosure (匸/风) for violent weather.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

句(jù)

Means sentence; uses the mouth radical (口) instead of the eye radical (目).

据(jù)

Means basis or according to; uses the hand radical (扌) instead of the eye radical (目).

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

万事[___]备，只欠东风。

Clue: jù

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing 俱 (all/together) with 具 (tool/equipment), as they share the exact same pronunciation and tone.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see 俱 in a classical idiom like 声泪俱下, what does it mean?

Production: How do you write the literary adverb meaning 'all' or 'both' (jù) using the eye radical?

俱jùall, both, entirely, together

Speed:

Searching YouTube for native pronunciation videos...

0 / 0