准 (zhǔn) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

准

zhǔn[zhun3]Tone 3

to allow, to grant, in accordance with, standard

HSK 1

Multiple Readings (多音字):

Guru Deep Dive

English · to allow, to grant, in accordance with, standard

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:10

Writing Balance Rule: The left side (water radical variant 冫) is narrow and compact, while the right side (隹) is wider with multiple horizontal strokes that must be evenly spaced.

1. Meaning

standard, criterion, accurate

to allowto grantin accordance withquasi-, semi-

verb, noun, prefixNeutral#measurement#rules#permission

Sample Usage

标准
biāozhǔn
standard, criterion
准时
zhǔnshí
punctual, on time

2. Sound

/[ʈʂun³⁵]/Tone: 35

准

zhǔnzhun3

ˇ(214)

=zhǔn

Initial Consonant

Type: Unaspirated Retroflex

Sounds like: j/dr retroflex sound

UnaspiratedRetroflex

Airflow Tactile Test: No burst of air. Tongue curled up. Tissue stays still.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip curled back near hard palate

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -u vowel group

Sounds like: -un rhymes with oon

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

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

Tone

T3 (214)

2 → 1 → 4 (214)

3rd Tone (Low-Dipping)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 3 dips low and rises sharply, similar to the incredulous English question 'Really?'

Sandhi: When followed by another Tone 3, zhǔn changes to Tone 2 (zhún), though in writing the tone mark remains unchanged.

👂

Listening trap: Mistaking the retroflex initial 'zh' for the alveolar 'z', or confusing Tone 3 dipping with Tone 2 rising in rapid speech.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A rising hand gesture starting from chest level and sweeping upward to the sky, like asking a question with surprise.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 10 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left side (water radical variant 冫) is narrow and compact, while the right side (隹) is wider with multiple horizontal strokes that must be evenly spaced.

4. Components

Radical 冫 · Two-dot ice radical (ice, cold, water)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 冫 (Relates to freezing or fixing a standard)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 隹 (original sound: zhuī)

Water/ice (冫) meeting a short-tailed bird (隹) that lands precisely on target, establishing a fixed standard.

冫 Ice / water
隹 Short-tailed bird

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

27· Phonetic Root: 隹 (zhuī)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally derived from a phonetic combination where 隹 provided the sound and 冫 or other elements added contextual meaning related to water levels or settling/standardizing.

Semantic Evolution: From setting water levels or leveling devices to mean any rule, standard, accuracy, or official permission.

In ancient times, water levels were used as the ultimate physical standard for leveling and measurement.

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: ジュン / Kun: 준ずる, じゅる

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

준

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

An icy (冫) bird (隹) lands *precisely* and *on standard* (zhǔn) right on the bullseye.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

准

zhǔnstandard, allowBase character with ice radical

推

tuīto pushUses hand radical (扌) instead of ice (冫)

谁

shéiwhoUses speech radical (讠) instead of ice (冫)

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

推(tuī)

推 has a hand radical (扌) for pushing; 准 has ice (冫) for standards.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

请问这件行李的重量[___]标准吗？

Clue: zhǔn

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the right component 隹 with 住 or mixing up the tones when combining with other words.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What does 准 mean when you see it in 准时 (zhǔnshí)?

Production: How do you write the character for 'standard' or 'accurate' with 10 strokes?

准zhǔnto allow, to grant, in accordance with, standard

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