劈 (pī) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

劈

pī[pi1]Tone 1

to chop

HSK 7

Multiple Readings (多音字):

Guru Deep Dive

English · to chop

Cached lesson

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Topology:Top-bottom

Strokes:15

Writing Balance Rule: Keep the top section (辟) balanced and compact over the bottom component (刀), ensuring the knife radical at the bottom anchors the overall weight.

1. Meaning

to chop, to split open with a sharp tool or lightning strike

to divideto split apart

VerbNeutral#action#destruction#weather

Sample Usage

砍柴需要用斧头劈。
kǎn chái xū yào yòng fǔ tou pī.
Chopping firewood requires using an axe to split it.
那棵树被闪电劈成了两半。
nà kē shù bèi shǎn diàn pī chéng le liǎng bàn.
That tree was split in half by lightning.

2. Sound

/[pʰi⁵⁵]/Tone: 55

劈

pīpi1

¯(55)

=pī

Build the syllable

Step-by-step blending

Tone mark placement: Tone mark sits on "i" per main-vowel priority (a > e > o; in -iu/-ui the mark takes the second vowel).

Initial Consonant

Type: Aspirated Bilabial

Sounds like: p sound in English 'pat'

Aspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Strong puff of air! A tissue held before lips MUST fly forward.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Lips pressed together then released with a strong puff of air

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -i vowel group

Sounds like: ee sound in English 'see'

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

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: Maintains a high, unvarying pitch level similar to saying 'migh[t]' in a flat, high-pitched monotone.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the aspirated initial p- with b-, or mixing up the high level tone 1 with rising tone 2.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A high, flat musical note held steady at the top of your vocal range, like a soprano singing a sustained high note.

3. Writing

Topology: Top-bottom · Strokes: 15 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: Keep the top section (辟) balanced and compact over the bottom component (刀), ensuring the knife radical at the bottom anchors the overall weight.

4. Components

Radical 刀 · Knife Radical (knife, blade, cutting instrument)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 刀 (indicates cutting or splitting action)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 辟 (original sound: pī / bì)

A sharp tool or body (辟) combined with a blade (刀) to represent the violent action of splitting or hacking something open.

辟 provides phonetic and general shape structure
刀 semantic clue denoting a knife or cutting tool

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

22· Phonetic Root: 辟 (bì)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Combined from the phonetic element 辟 (avoid, open, law) and the semantic element 刀 (knife), originally depicting the forceful action of a blade splitting an object apart.

Semantic Evolution: Derived from physical chopping with a blade, extended to natural forceful splitting actions such as lightning striking (雷劈).

The character bridges the concept of human tool use (cutting wood) with natural violence (lightning strikes).

6. Sinosphere

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

Imagine a samurai using a sharp knife (刀) to split an open space (辟) right down the middle with a single high-pitched 'Pee!' sound of air splitting.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

辟

bì(literary) king; monarch; (literary) (of a sovereign) to summon to official servicePhonetic Core (声旁)

避

bìto avoid, escape, keep away from+ 辶 (walking)

壁

bìwall+ 土 (earth)

僻

pì(bound form) remote; out of the way+ 亻 (person)

Explore this family →

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

辟(pì)

Lacks the bottom knife (刀) component found in 劈.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

这根木头太粗了，我需要用斧头把它[___]开。

Clue: pī

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the high level tone 1 with tone 4 (pì) or missing strokes in the complex top component 辟.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What does 劈 mean and how is its initial consonant pronounced?

Production: How do you write the character for 'to chop/split open' with 15 strokes?

劈pīto chop

Speed:

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