Writing Balance Rule: Keep the outer enclosing box compact and ensure the trailing hook stroke inside swoops gracefully to the right, maintaining centered balance.
1. Meaning
spoon
ladlecentiliter (unit of volume, abbreviation for 公勺)
NounNeutral#utensils#kitchenware#measurement
Sample Usage
请给我一把勺子。
Qǐng gěi wǒ yī bǎ sháozi.
Please give me a spoon.
喝汤需要用勺。
Hē tāng xūyào yòng sháo.
Drinking soup requires using a spoon.
2. Sound
/[ʂɑʊ̯³⁵]/Tone: 35
勺
sháoshao2
|
++
´(35)
=sháo
Initial Consonant
sh
Type: Retroflex Fricative
Sounds like: sh (retroflex sh sound like in 'shh')
UnaspiratedRetroflex
Airflow Tactile Test: Hollow wind sound through curled tongue channel.
Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip curled back near hard palate
Final Rhyme
ao
Vowel Group: -a vowel group
Sounds like: -ao rhymes with ow in cow without nasalization
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'ow'.
Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.
Tone
T2 (35)
3 → 5 (35)
2nd Tone (Mid-Rising)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 2 starts at a mid pitch and rises sharply to the top, matching the intonation of an English question like 'What?'
👂
Listening trap: Confusing the initial retroflex 'sh-' with alveolar 's-', or failing to lift the pitch fully for Tone 2.
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: Tone 2 is a rising tone. Gesture with your hand moving upward and to the right, just like raising your hand to ask a question.
3. Writing
Topology: Full enclosure · Strokes: 3 strokes
Writing Balance Rule: Keep the outer enclosing box compact and ensure the trailing hook stroke inside swoops gracefully to the right, maintaining centered balance.
4. Components
Radical勺 · Spoon Radical (spoon or ladle)
Semantic Clue (形旁):勺 (Depicts a scoop or utensil holding something)
The character is an ancient depiction of a ladle: the outer frame forms the handle and bowl, and the dot inside represents a drop of liquid being scooped.
勹 wrapping or container
丶 a droplet inside the ladle
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
8· Phonetic Root: 勺 (sháo)
5. History
Liushu category: Pictogram (象形)
Origin: In Oracle Bone scripts, '勺' was drawn as a spoon or ladle shape with a small handle and a bowl containing a droplet of food or liquid.
Semantic Evolution: Originally denoting a scooping tool, it expanded to represent measuring units (centiliters) and appears frequently as a phonetic or semantic component in other characters.
It serves as both an independent character and a radical building block in Chinese characters.
6. Sinosphere
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: シャク / Kun: ひしゃく
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story
Imagine a tiny spoon (勺) scooping up a glowing droplet of star-dust. You hold the handle (the outer frame) and the droplet inside shines brightly.
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
的
depossessive particleCombines the white radical (白) and spoon (勺) to form the ubiquitous possessive particle.
约
yuēappointment / aboutCombines thread (纟) with spoon (勺).
豹
bàoleopardCombines animal footprint (豸) with spoon (勺).
Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
句(jù)
Contains a mouth (口) instead of a single drop inside, meaning 'sentence' instead of 'spoon'.
白(bái)
Has a horizontal stroke inside representing 'white', whereas勺 has a dot representing a droplet in a ladle.
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge
喝汤的时候，请帮我拿一个[___]。
Clue: sháo zi
Common Learner Pitfall
Confusing the inner dot of 勺 with the inner line of 白 or the mouth box of 句.
Memory Prompts
Recognition: When you see the character 勺 with a rising tone, what kitchen utensil does it represent?
Production: How do you write the 3-stroke character for 'spoon' or 'ladle' (sháo)?
Real-World Video Context
Watch authentic native speakers pronounce and explain this word in real-world YouTube videos.
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勺sháospoon
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