HanziGuru.婚 · hūn
婚
hūn[hun1]Tone 1

marriage

HSK 3
Guru Deep Dive

English · marriage

Cached lesson
1 / 1
Topology:Left-right
Strokes:11
Writing Balance Rule: Keep the left component (女) slender and compressed within the left half, leaving ample room for the right component (昏) so the whole character remains balanced and avoids leaning.
1. Meaning

marriage

weddingto marryto take a wife
Verb / NounNeutral#relationships#society#family
Sample Usage
  • 他们结婚了。
    Tāmen jiéhūn le.
    They got married.
  • 婚礼很热闹。
    Hūnlǐ hěn rènào.
    The wedding was very lively.
2. Sound
/[xun⁵⁵]/Tone: 55
婚
hūnhun1
++
¯(55)
=hūn
Initial Consonant
h
Type: Velar Fricative
Sounds like: h as in 'hat'
Unaspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: Gentle throat friction (like fogging glasses on a cold day).
Tongue & Mouth Position: Back of the throat friction, tongue relaxed at the bottom of the mouth.
Final Rhyme
un
Vowel Group: -u vowel group
Sounds like: -un rhymes with spoon
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 short for uen
Tone
T1 (55)
1st Tone (High-Flat)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 1 is a high, steady pitch, similar to a sustained musical note or singing a high-pitched 'ahhh'.
👂
Listening trap: Confusing the unrounded or different vowel qualities with similar rhymes like -eng or -ang.
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: A high, flat hand movement held steady at the top of your vocal range, representing Tone 1.
3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 11 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: Keep the left component (女) slender and compressed within the left half, leaving ample room for the right component (昏) so the whole character remains balanced and avoids leaning.

4. Components

Radical 女 · Woman Radical (female, woman)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 女 (Indicates that marriage historically centers around taking a woman as a bride or joining a woman in union.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 昏 (original sound: hūn)

A woman (女) at dusk (昏) - ancient Chinese weddings traditionally took place at dusk (hence the character 昏 for dusk combined with woman 女 to form 婚 marriage).

  • 女 Woman / Female semantic indicator
  • 昏 Dusk / Twilight phonetic and semantic clue
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally combined 女 (woman) and 昏 (dusk). In ancient times, wedding ceremonies were held in the evening at dusk, which is why 昏 provides both the sound and the cultural timing context.

Semantic Evolution: Shifted from specifically referring to the evening wedding ritual to the general legal and social institution of marriage.

  • The character reflects ancient Chinese wedding customs where ceremonies occurred after sunset.
6. Sinosphere
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: コン
🇰🇷
Hanja (Korean)
혼
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story

A WOMAN (女) waits until DUSK (昏) on her WEDDING (婚) day to walk down the aisle under the evening stars.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
婚
hūnmarriageBase character with woman (女)
昏
hūnduskWithout woman, represents the sun (日) getting lost under a roof (氏) at dusk.
荤
hūnmeat / non-vegetarianWith grass radical (艹) on top
Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
昏(hūn)
昏 means dusk and lacks the woman (女) radical on the left.
荤(hūn)
荤 means meat and has the grass radical (艹) on top instead of nothing.
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge
他们打算今年秋天结[___]。
Clue: hūn
Common Learner Pitfall

Forgetting the left component 女 or accidentally writing the grass radical 艹 from 荤 on top of 婚.

Memory Prompts
Recognition: What does 婚 mean and how is it pronounced?
Production: How do you write the character for 'marriage' (hūn) using the woman radical and dusk component?
Real-World Video Context

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

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