HanziGuru.傭 · yōng
傭
yōng[yong1]Tone 1

to hire, servant

HSK 7
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佣
Guru Deep Dive

English · to hire, servant

Cached lesson
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Topology:Left-right
Strokes:13
Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (亻) takes up about one-third of the width, while the right phonetic component (庸) takes up the remaining two-thirds. Keep the right side stable with a flat base.
Simplification Logic: The traditional form 傭 and simplified form 佣 share the exact same radical and phonetic structure; minor standardization applied to internal strokes.
1. Meaning

to hire or employ someone

servanthired laborerdomestic help
Verb / NounFormal / LiteraryBound morpheme#labor#employment#society
Sample Usage
  • 雇佣工人
    gùyōng gōngrén
    to hire workers
  • 佣金
    yōngjīn
    commission (brokerage)
2. Sound
/[jʊŋ⁵⁵]/Tone: 55
傭
yōngyong1
++
¯(55)
=yōng
Build the syllable
Step-by-step blending
yong
Tone mark placement: Tone mark sits on "o" per main-vowel priority (a > e > o; in -iu/-ui the mark takes the second vowel).
Initial Consonant
y
Type: Glide (y)
Sounds like: y semi-vowel (like y in yes)
Unaspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: Acts as a bridge into 'i' or 'ü' vowel sounds.
Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue body raises toward the hard/soft palate
Final Rhyme
ong
Vowel Group: -o vowel group
Sounds like: -ong rhymes with rung
Mouth Shape Guide: Combine initial 'h-' (h) with final '-ong' (oong).
Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.
Tone
T1 (55)
1st Tone (High-Flat)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 1 stays flat and high at the top of your vocal range, exactly like a musical soprano note.
👂
Listening trap: Do not confuse the final '-ong' with '-ang' or '-en'. It has a deep, resonant back-vowel nasal ending.
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: Tone 1 is a high, flat musical note, like holding a steady high pitch on the word 'YOUNG!' without dropping.
3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 13 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (亻) takes up about one-third of the width, while the right phonetic component (庸) takes up the remaining two-thirds. Keep the right side stable with a flat base.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 傭 and simplified form 佣 share the exact same radical and phonetic structure; minor standardization applied to internal strokes.

4. Components

Radical 亻 · Person radical (Human, people, person)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 亻 (Indicates human labor, workers, or employment)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 庸 (original sound: yōng)

A person (亻) working for a wage or doing ordinary tasks (庸) equates to someone hired as a laborer or servant (佣).

  • 亻 Person
  • 庸 Ordinary / Phonetic clue for yōng
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Combined from the person radical (亻) denoting human actors and 庸 (yōng) providing the sound and the underlying sense of regular service or routine work.

Semantic Evolution: Originally referred to ordinary labor or service, then specialized into hiring/employing workers and domestic help, and later extended to financial commissions (佣金).

  • In ancient China, 庸 (yōng) also referred to corvée labor tax paid in the form of labor days.
6. Sinosphere
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: ヨウ
🇰🇷
Hanja (Korean)
용
Sound Shift Bridge: Shared East Asian cultural vocabulary root 'yōng/yō/yong' relating to employment and service.
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story

A **PERSON** (亻) who is **YOUNG** (yōng) gets **hired** as a domestic helper to do chores around the house.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
庸
yōngordinaryPhonetic Core (声旁)
墉
yōngfortified wall; city wall+ 土 (earth)
慵
yōnglethargic+ 忄 (heart)
镛
yōnglarge bell+ 钅 (metal)
Explore this family →
Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
拥(yōng)
佣 uses the person radical (亻) for hired help/people; 拥 uses the hand radical (扌) for hugging or crowding with arms.
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge
這家公司打算[___]幾名新員工。
Clue: yōng
Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the left radical with other similar ones like 彳 or mixing up the phonetic component 庸 with 康.

Memory Prompts
Recognition: When you see 佣, what does it mean and how is it pronounced?
Production: How do you write the character for 'to hire' or 'servant' with Pinyin yōng?
Real-World Video Context

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

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