Writing Balance Rule: Keep the vertical and horizontal intersecting lines balanced. The upper mountain-like part rests neatly above the lower mirroring element, maintaining equal weight on both sides.
1. Meaning
to go out or come out from a place
to arise or occurto produce or yieldto go beyond or exceeddirectional complement indicating outward movementclassifier for plays, operas, and theatrical acts
zhè duǒ huā hěn piàoliang, kāi chū le hóngsè de huābàn.
This flower is very pretty, it produced red petals.
2. Sound
/[t͡ʂʰu˥]/Tone: 55
出
chūchu1
|
++
¯(55)
=chū
Initial Consonant
ch
Type: Aspirated Retroflex
Sounds like: retroflex 'ch' sound
AspiratedRetroflex
Airflow Tactile Test: Both curled tongue AND explosive puff of air! Tissue MUST fly.
Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip curled back near the hard palate, releasing a strong puff of air
Final Rhyme
u
Vowel Group: -u vowel group
Sounds like: oo sound as in 'boot'
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'oo'.
Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.
Tone
T1 (55)
5 → 5 (55)
1st Tone (High-Flat)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 1 is a high, flat pitch that stays constant, similar to a sustained musical note at the top of your speaking range.
👂
Listening trap: Often confused with unaspirated j- or retroflex zh- sounds if the aspiration puff is missed.
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: A high, flat horizontal line made in the air at upper vocal range, mimicking a steady high note.
3. Writing
Topology: Single character · Strokes: 5 strokes
Writing Balance Rule: Keep the vertical and horizontal intersecting lines balanced. The upper mountain-like part rests neatly above the lower mirroring element, maintaining equal weight on both sides.
4. Components
Radical凵 · Open Box Radical (receptacle or container opening upward)
Originally depicted a foot (止) coming out of a cave or opening (凵). In modern writing, it looks like two stacked mountain-like shapes where one steps out from inside.
凵 container or enclosure opening
山 (modified) mountain or peak shape moving upward and outward
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
9· Phonetic Root: 出 (chū)
5. History
Liushu category: Compound ideogram (会意)
Origin: In Oracle Bone scripts, 出 was drawn as a foot (止) stepping out of a cave or enclosure (凵), graphically representing the act of exiting or going outward.
Semantic Evolution: From the literal physical action of stepping out of a dwelling or cave, it generalized to mean any form of emerging, producing, or exceeding limits.
It is one of the foundational directional characters in ancient Chinese writings.
The lower part has transformed over millennia from a footprint into its current modern block shape.
6. Sinosphere
🇻🇳
Sino-Vietnamese
xuất
The entering tone (thế nhập thanh / sắc) matches high energetic delivery.