HanziGuru.囌 · sū
囌
sū[su1]Tone 1

perilla, revived, place name (Suzhou), used in talkative/bothersome

HSK 6
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苏
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English · perilla, revived, place name (Suzhou), used in talkative/bothersome

Cached lesson
1 / 1
Topology:Left-right
Strokes:7
Writing Balance Rule: The left side (grass radical 艹) sits slightly higher and narrower, while the right side (鱼 fish) balances it out by extending slightly lower with its final horizontal strokes.
Simplification Logic: The traditional form 囌 (mouth 口 + busy 穌) was simplified by associating with the phonetic element 稣, which itself derives from fish 鱼 and rest 禾/unwind elements, streamlining into the modern character 苏 (艹 + 鱼).
1. Meaning

perilla (an herb of the mint family) or revived

short for Suzhou (江苏)used in the compound lūsu (嚕囌) meaning wordy or bothersome
Noun / Bound formNeutral / LiteraryBound morpheme#botany#geography#states of being
Sample Usage
  • 紫苏
    zǐ sū
    perilla (shiso)
  • 江苏
    Jiāngsū
    Jiangsu Province
2. Sound
/[su⁵⁵]/Tone: 55
囌
sūsu1
++
¯(55)
=sū
Initial Consonant
s
Type: Dental Fricative
Sounds like: s as in ' sun '
Unaspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: Clear, steady sibilant hiss.
Tongue & Mouth Position: Tip of the tongue lightly touches or comes very close to the back of the lower front teeth.
Final Rhyme
u
Vowel Group: -u vowel group
Sounds like: oo as in ' food ' or u in ' sue '
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'oo'.
Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.
Tone
T1 (55)
1st Tone (High-Flat)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 1 is a high level pitch (55), matching a sustained musical note at the top of your voice.
👂
Listening trap: Do not confuse with 'shū' (sh- retroflex sound); keep the tongue tip down behind the lower front teeth for a clean dental 's'.
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: Hold a steady, high-pitched flat tone as if singing a single note at the top of your normal speaking voice.
3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 7 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left side (grass radical 艹) sits slightly higher and narrower, while the right side (鱼 fish) balances it out by extending slightly lower with its final horizontal strokes.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 囌 (mouth 口 + busy 穌) was simplified by associating with the phonetic element 稣, which itself derives from fish 鱼 and rest 禾/unwind elements, streamlining into the modern character 苏 (艹 + 鱼).

4. Components

Radical 艹 · Grass radical (Plants, herbs, vegetation)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 艹 (Indicates that perilla (紫苏) is a plant or herb.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 鱼 (original sound: sū / yú phonetic connection in historical evolution)

A lush herb (艹) growing abundantly like schools of fish (鱼) in the river marshes of Jiangsu.

  • 艹 Grass/plant semantic classifier
  • 鱼 Phonetic and structural component
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally written with various phonetic loans and grass elements. The modern form combines the plant radical 艹 with a phonetic component derived from historical phonetic series.

Semantic Evolution: Originally referred to perilla herbs, later borrowed for geographical names like Jiangsu (from Suzhou), and embedded in colloquial compounds like lūsu (嚕囌).

  • Jiangsu province takes its 'Su' from the historic city of Suzhou.
  • Perilla (紫苏) has been cultivated in East Asia for millennia for culinary and medicinal uses.
6. Sinosphere
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: ソ
🇰🇷
Hanja (Korean)
소
Sound Shift Bridge: The dental fricative s- matches the initial s- sound found in many borrowings and cognates across languages.
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story

Imagine walking through a field of fragrant herbal perilla (艹) where little fish (鱼) are jumping out of the water, completely reviving (sū) your tired senses.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
苏
sūperilla / reviveBase character with grass and fish components
酥
sūcrispy / pastryAdds the wine/distillery radical (酉) on the right: crispy pastries made with grain/wine.
Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
酥(sū)
酥 has the酉 (alcohol/jug) component on the right, referring to flaky pastries or buttery textures, whereas 苏 has 鱼 (fish).
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge
這座城市是江囌省的[___]州市。
Clue: Sū
Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the character with 酥 (crispy) due to identical pronunciation and similar right-hand side components.

Memory Prompts
Recognition: When you see '苏', what plant and major Chinese province does it immediately represent?
Production: How do you write the character for 'perilla / revive' (sū) using the grass radical and fish component?
Real-World Video Context

Watch authentic native speakers pronounce and explain this word in real-world YouTube videos.

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囌sūperilla, revived, place name (Suzhou), used in talkative/bothersome
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