Writing Balance Rule: The left side (亻) should be narrower and slightly elevated, while the right side (隹) must be balanced with well-spaced horizontal strokes to prevent it from looking crushed.
1. Meaning
to urge, press, prompt, or rush someone
to hasten or expedite a process or action
VerbNeutral#action#communication#time management
Sample Usage
快去催催他，要迟到了。
Kuài qù cuī cuī tā, yào chí dào le.
Go hurry him up quickly; we are going to be late.
房东又来催房租了。
Fángdōng yòu lái cuī fángzū le.
The landlord came to press for the rent again.
2. Sound
/[tsʰuɪ̯⁵⁵]/Tone: 55
催
cuīcui1
|
++
¯(55)
=cuī
Build the syllable
Step-by-step blending
cui
Tone mark placement: Tone mark sits on "i" per the side-by-side rule (in -iu/-ui the mark takes the second vowel).
Initial Consonant
c
Type: Aspirated Dental Sibilant
Sounds like: ts sound like 'cats' ending
Aspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: Sharp burst of air through teeth! Tissue MUST flutter strongly.
Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip touches the back of the lower front teeth to release a sharp, crisp affricate.
Final Rhyme
ui
Vowel Group: -i vowel group
Sounds like: rhymes with 'way' after a 'u' glide
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'way'.
Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.
Abbreviated Rhyme Rule: ui is short for uei
Tone
T1 (55)
5 → 5 (55)
1st Tone (High-Flat)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 1 is a high, steady pitch comparable to a sustained musical note or a flat high-pitched 'ah?' of surprise.
👂
Listening trap: Confusing the aspirated initial 'c' [tsʰ] with the unaspirated 'z' [ts] or postalveolar 'zh' [tʂ], leading to mispronunciation as zui or chui.
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Physical Tone Gesture: A high, flat hand gesture held steadily at eye level, matching the high level tone pitch of Tone 1.
3. Writing
Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 13 strokes
Writing Balance Rule: The left side (亻) should be narrower and slightly elevated, while the right side (隹) must be balanced with well-spaced horizontal strokes to prevent it from looking crushed.
4. Components
Radical亻 · Person Radical (human, person)
Semantic Clue (形旁):亻 (indicates an action or relationship involving a person)
Phonetic Clue (声旁):隹 (original sound: cui)
A person (亻) stands behind a short-tailed bird or falcon (隹), repeatedly nudging and pressing it forward to make it fly.
亻 Person
隹 Short-tailed bird / Phonetic clue for cuī
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
5· Phonetic Root: 崔 (cuī)
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)
Origin: Combined from the person radical (亻) representing human agency and the phonetic component 'short-tailed bird' (隹), originally capturing the concept of urging or driving animals/people forward.
Semantic Evolution: Shifted from the physical act of driving or pressing livestock and people forward to the modern psychological and social sense of urging, hastening, or demanding prompt action (such as urging someone to hurry up or pressing for payment).
The component 隹 originally depicted a fat bird perched on a branch, which frequently serves as a phonetic anchor in Chinese characters.
6. Sinosphere
🇻🇳
Sino-Vietnamese
thôi
Mandarin Tone 1 (high level) corresponds loosely to flat or rising high registers in Sino-Vietnamese borrowings.
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: サイ / Kun: せか.す
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Hanja (Korean)
최
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story
A **person (亻)** is standing behind a **bird (隹)**, continuously shouting and **urging (催)** it to take off and fly faster.