夔 (kuí) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

夔

kuí[kui2]Tone 2

one-legged mountain demon of Chinese mythology

Guru Deep Dive

English · one-legged mountain demon of Chinese mythology

Cached lesson

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Topology:Top-bottom

Strokes:21

Writing Balance Rule: Maintain vertical symmetry with a compact top structure perched securely over a wider, intricate lower base.

1. Meaning

one-legged mountain demon of Chinese mythology

Chinese mythical figure who invented music and dancingChinese rain godsurname Kui

NounLiterary#mythology#folklore#history#surname

Sample Usage

相传夔是一足的怪兽。
Xiāngchuán kuí shì yī zú de guàishòu.
Legend has it that Kui is a one-legged monster.
夔龙纹是中国古代青铜器上的常见纹饰。
Kuílóngwén shì zhōngguó gǔdài qīngtóngqì shàng de chángjiàn wénshì.
The Kui dragon motif is a common decorative pattern on ancient Chinese bronze vessels.

2. Sound

/[kʰu̯eɪ̯³⁵]/Tone: 35

夔

kuíkui2

´(35)

=kuí

Build the syllable

Step-by-step blending

kui

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: Aspirated Velar

Sounds like: k sound as in 'kite'

Aspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Strong gust of air from throat! Tissue held in front MUST fly forward.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Back of the tongue is raised against the soft palate, releasing a strong puff of air.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -i vowel group

Sounds like: u-ee glide ending

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

T2 (35)

3 → 5 (35)

2nd Tone (Mid-Rising)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 2 rises from middle to high, mirroring an upward questioning inflection in English.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the initial 'k-' with 'g-' or mishearing the complex final vowel glide as a simple monophthong.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Tone 2 starts at a mid pitch and sweeps sharply upward to a high pitch, exactly like asking a surprised question in English such as 'What?!'

3. Writing

Topology: Top-bottom · Strokes: 21 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: Maintain vertical symmetry with a compact top structure perched securely over a wider, intricate lower base.

4. Components

Radical 夕 · Evening Radical (evening, sunset)

The character Kui is a complex ancient glyph featuring a horned, dragon-like head structure at the top and a winding body over a single foot or leg at the bottom.

夕 Evening radical acting as part of the top contour
夂 Walking or trailing footsteps component

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

2· Phonetic Root: 夔 (kuí)

5. History

Liushu category: Pictogram (象形)

Origin: In Oracle Bone and Bronze scripts, 夔 was originally a pictorial representation of a mythical one-legged animal resembling a dragon or reptilian monster with a large head and a tail.

Semantic Evolution: Originally depicting a specific mythical beast, it expanded to denote ancient musicians, rain deities, and eventually became used as a rare surname.

According to the classic text Shanhaijing (Classic of Mountains and Seas), Kui lived on a solitary mountain and caused storms whenever it moved.
In historical records, Kui was also the name of a talented music master appointed by Emperor Shun.

6. Sinosphere

🇻🇳

Sino-Vietnamese

quì

Mandarin rising tone 2 corresponds to Vietnamese hỏi or sắc depending on historical derivation, read here with the rising tone.

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: キ

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

규

Sound Shift Bridge: The initial 'k-' matches the historical consonant preservation in Sino-Xenic readings.

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

Imagine a mythical one-legged demon (夔) hopping through the evening (夕) mist on a lone mountain peak, beating a rhythm with its single foot to invent ancient music.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

犪

kuíused in 犪牛[kui2 niu2]+ 牛 (cow)

Explore this family →

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

葵(kuí)

Has the grass radical (艹) at the top because it means sunflower or mallow, whereas 夔 is a mythical creature.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

相传古代神话中有一个叫做[___]的独足怪兽。

Clue: kuí

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing 夔 with 葵 (sunflower) due to identical pronunciation, ignoring the radical difference.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What does the complex character 夔 represent in Chinese mythology?

Production: How do you write the character for the one-legged mythical demon pronounced kuí?

夔kuíone-legged mountain demon of Chinese mythology

Speed:

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