区 (ōu) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

区

ōu[ou1]Tone 1

district

HSK 3

View Traditional FormSwitch to Traditional

區

Multiple Readings (多音字):

Guru Deep Dive

English · district

Cached lesson

1 / 1

Topology:Full enclosure

Strokes:4

Writing Balance Rule: Write the outer semi-enclosure box first, keeping the inner structure safely contained inside without touching the bottom border.

Simplification Logic: Simplified from 區 by replacing the internal complex elements with a simpler component (メ inside).

1. Meaning

district, region, area

to divide, to categorizesurname Ou

noun / suffixNeutral#geography#administration#surnames

Sample Usage

这个区的环境很好。
zhè ge qū de huánjìng hěn hǎo.
The environment of this district is very good.
山区
shān qū
mountainous region

2. Sound

/[ou̯⁵⁵]/Tone: 55

区

ōuou1

¯(55)

=ōu

Initial Consonant

∅

Type: Zero Initial (Pure Vowel)

Sounds like: zero-initial vowel start

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Starts directly on the vowel sound without consonant obstruction.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue stays neutral in the middle of the mouth as you glide from 'o' to 'u'.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -o vowel group

Sounds like: -ou rhymes with oh

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

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, steady pitch, identical to singing a high note continuously or saying a flat 'Aha!' in surprise.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing it with Tone 2 (óu) or Tone 4 (òu). Make sure to keep the pitch strictly level and high without dipping or rising.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Hold your hand flat at eye level, moving it horizontally in a straight line from left to right, matching the flat high pitch of Tone 1.

3. Writing

Topology: Full enclosure · Strokes: 4 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: Write the outer semi-enclosure box first, keeping the inner structure safely contained inside without touching the bottom border.

Simplification Logic: Simplified from 區 by replacing the internal complex elements with a simpler component (メ inside).

4. Components

Radical 匚 · Hiding Enclosure Radical (box, hiding place, container)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 匚 (denotes a container, boundary, or enclosed area)

An enclosing box (匚) wrapping around items or sections, representing a partitioned district or enclosed area.

匚 Hiding enclosure container
乂 Crossing marks dividing the space inside

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

14· Phonetic Root: 区 (ōu)

5. History

Liushu category: Compound ideogram (会意)

Origin: Originally depicted items hidden inside a box or a walled enclosure, evolving to mean a place where things are kept, sorted, or partitioned into districts.

Semantic Evolution: From a storage box or container to an administrative container or geographical district.

Used extensively in ancient China to designate city wards and administrative zones.

6. Sinosphere

🇻🇳

Sino-Vietnamese

khu

Mandarin Tone 1 is flat high, similar to Vietnamese ngang tone.

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: ク

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

구

Sound Shift Bridge: Shared Sino-Xenic readings reflect ancient Chinese borrowings of administrative terminology.

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

You put everything neatly inside a storage box (匚) and cross-mark (乂) sections to organize your district into different zones.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

欧

ōuEuropeAdd the person radical (亻) for Europe (referring to people from the western region).

躯

qūhuman bodyAdd the body radical (身) for physical body.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

巨(jù)

巨 means huge and has a bottom hook structure, whereas 区 uses the hiding enclosure (匚).

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

这座城市有很多商业[___]。

Clue: qū

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the enclosure box of 区 with other box-like radicals like 口 or 冂, leading to incorrect stroke order.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see 区, what does it mean as a suffix for places?

Production: How do you write the character for 'district' (ōu) with 4 strokes?

区ōudistrict

Speed:

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