坠 (zhuì) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

坠

zhuì[zhui4]Tone 4

to fall

HSK 7

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墜

Guru Deep Dive

English · to fall

Cached lesson

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:11

Writing Balance Rule: The left component (土) is compact and positioned slightly higher, while the right component (队) extends lower to balance the overall weight and create stability.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 墜 uses 隊 on the right. In the simplified form, 队 retains its standard structure, while the earth radical 土 on the left remains balanced.

1. Meaning

to fall, drop, or sink down

to weigh downhanging pendant or ornament

Verb / NounNeutral#motion#physics#position

Sample Usage

坠落
zhuìluò
to fall, to plunge
耳坠
ěrzhuì
earring, ear pendant

2. Sound

/[ʈʂueɪ̯⁵¹]/Tone: 51

坠

zhuìzhui4

`(51)

=zhuì

Build the syllable

Step-by-step blending

zhui

Tone mark placement: Tone mark sits on "i" per the side-by-side rule (in -iu/-ui the mark takes the second vowel).

Initial Consonant

Type: Unaspirated Retroflex

Sounds like: j/dr retroflex sound

UnaspiratedRetroflex

Airflow Tactile Test: No burst of air. Tongue curled up. Tissue stays still.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip curled back near hard palate

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -i vowel group

Sounds like: way sound

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

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

Abbreviated Rhyme Rule: ui is short for uei

Tone

T4 (51)

5 → 1 (51)

4th Tone (High-Falling)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 4 starts high and plunges sharply to the bottom, identical to a firm English command like 'Down!' or 'No!'

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the retroflex initial 'zh-' with the alveolar-palatal 'j-' (juì), or missing the exact falling pitch of Tone 4.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A swift, decisive karate chop moving straight down from eye level to waist level, matching the sharp falling pitch of Tone 4.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 11 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left component (土) is compact and positioned slightly higher, while the right component (队) extends lower to balance the overall weight and create stability.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 墜 uses 隊 on the right. In the simplified form, 队 retains its standard structure, while the earth radical 土 on the left remains balanced.

4. Components

Radical 土 · Earth Radical (earth, ground, soil)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 土 (Indicates the ground or earth where things fall down onto.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 队 (original sound: duì / zhuì)

An object made of earth (土) or connected to a line of people/things in a formation (队) loses its balance and plummets down to the ground.

土 earth or ground
队 queue or group (providing phonetic and compositional structure)

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

2· Phonetic Root: 队 (duì)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Combined from 土 (earth/ground, semantic clue for falling down) and 队 (phonetic component suggesting a descent or slope).

Semantic Evolution: Originally signified descending or dropping to the earth, which later generalized to any falling action, heavy weight, or hanging pendants.

The radical 土 anchors the physical concept of gravity and hitting the dirt.

6. Sinosphere

🇻🇳

Sino-Vietnamese

trụy

Nặng tone in Vietnamese matches the heavy, plunging quality of Mandarin Tone 4.

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: ツイ / Kun: おち.る, お.とす

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

추

Sound Shift Bridge: Mandarin 'zhui' corresponds to Sino-Vietnamese 'trụy' and Japanese On'yomi 'tsui'.

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

Picture a heavy bag of dirt (土) breaking loose from a team of workers (队) and plummeting straight down (坠) to the ground with a loud thud.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

队

duìteam, group, linePhonetic Core (声旁)

Explore this family →

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

队(duì)

队 means team and lacks the earth radical 土 on the left.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

飞机不幸失控，从高空中[___]了下来。

Clue: zhuì

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing 坠 (zhuì) with 队 (duì) by forgetting to include the earth radical 土 on the left side.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see 坠, what falling or dropping action does it represent?

Production: How do you write the character for 'to fall or drop' (zhuì) using earth and team components?

坠zhuìto fall

Speed:

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