吨 (dūn) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

吨

dūn[dun1]Tone 1

ton

HSK 5

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噸

Guru Deep Dive

English · ton

Cached lesson

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:10

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (口) should be compact and placed higher up, leaving the right component (屯) to take up the majority of the vertical and horizontal space.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 噸 uses 頓 on the right, while the simplified form 吨 replaces it with 屯 to match the phonetic loan sound more compactly.

1. Meaning

metric ton (unit of mass equal to 1,000 kilograms)

ship tonnage (capacity)

Noun / ClassifierNeutral#weights and measures#loanwords

Sample Usage

这头大象重五吨。
Zhè tóu dàxiàng zhòng wǔ dūn.
This elephant weighs five tons.
货轮的载重量是一万吨。
Huòlún de zàizhòngliàng shì yī wàn dūn.
The cargo ship's load capacity is 10,000 tons.

2. Sound

/[tʊn⁵⁵]/Tone: 55

吨

dūndun1

¯(55)

=dūn

Initial Consonant

Type: Unaspirated Alveolar

Sounds like: d sound as in dog

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: No puff of air. Tissue remains still (sounds like English 't' in 'stop').

Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip pressed against the alveolar ridge

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -u vowel group

Sounds like: rhymes with tun or the un in sun

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

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

Abbreviated Rhyme Rule: un is a contracted form of uen

Tone

T1 (55)

5 → 5 (55)

1st Tone (High-Flat)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 1 is a high, steady pitch, exactly like humming a constant high note in a song.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing it with characters ending in -ong or -en due to similar nasal or rounded rhymes.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Keep your hand completely flat and high in the air, floating steadily across the horizon to represent Tone 1.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 10 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (口) should be compact and placed higher up, leaving the right component (屯) to take up the majority of the vertical and horizontal space.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 噸 uses 頓 on the right, while the simplified form 吨 replaces it with 屯 to match the phonetic loan sound more compactly.

4. Components

Radical 口 · Mouth Radical (mouth, speaking, or loanword phonetic indicator)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 口 (indicates that this character is a phonetic loanword (often used for foreign units of measurement).)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 屯 (original sound: tún)

The mouth radical (口) on the left signals that this is a phonetic borrowing for a foreign spoken sound, combined with 屯 (tún, to store/gather) which provides the approximate sound 'dun'.

口 Mouth / phonetic loan indicator
屯 Phonetic clue for 'dun'

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

17· Phonetic Root: 屯 (tún)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: A modern created Chinese character (phono-semantic compound) invented in the 20th century specifically to transliterate the foreign unit of measurement 'ton'.

Semantic Evolution: Created as a phonetic loan character to represent the Western unit of weight 'ton', it has retained exclusively this technical and commercial definition.

Invented during the modernization of Chinese measurement systems to adopt international standards.

6. Sinosphere

🇻🇳

Sino-Vietnamese

đốn

The modern word is a phonetic loan, but the component 屯 carries the Sino-Vietnamese reading 'đốn'.

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: トン (ton)

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

둔

Sound Shift Bridge: Direct phonetic borrowing of the English word 'ton' into East Asian languages.

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

To measure a huge amount of heavy goods, you open your mouth (口) wide in shock as you pile up massive supplies (屯) weighing a massive 'ton'.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

屯

túnto store, garrisonBase phonetic component without the mouth radical.

纯

chúnpureReplaces the mouth radical with the silk radical (纟).

钝

dùnblunt, dullReplaces the mouth radical with the metal radical (钅).

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

顿(dùn)

顿 uses the Left-side simplified eat/food radical (饣) meaning pause or meal, whereas 吨 uses the mouth radical (口) for the unit 'ton'.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

这座桥可以承受一百___重的卡车。

Clue: dūn

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing 吨 (ton) with 顿 (pause/meal) because they share the phonetic part 屯/顿 visually in traditional Chinese.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see 吨, what unit of measurement does it represent and how is it pronounced?

Production: How do you write the Chinese character for the unit of weight 'ton' (dūn)?

吨dūnton

Speed:

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