Writing Balance Rule: The left component (女) must be compressed slightly to make room for the wider, complex right component (家). Keep the horizontal strokes evenly spaced.
1. Meaning
to marry (said of a woman marrying into a husband's family)
to marry off a daughterto shift blame or responsibility onto someone else
VerbNeutral#marriage#society#relationships
Sample Usage
她下个月要嫁人了。
Tā xià gè yuè yào jià rén le.
She is getting married next month.
不要把责任嫁祸于人。
Bù yào bǎ zérèn jiàhuòyúrén.
Do not shift the blame onto others.
2. Sound
/[t͡ɕia˥˩]/Tone: 51
嫁
jiàjia4
|
++
`(51)
=jià
Build the syllable
Step-by-step blending
jia
Tone mark placement: Tone mark sits on "a" per main-vowel priority (a > e > o; in -iu/-ui the mark takes the second vowel).
Initial Consonant
j
Type: Unaspirated Alveolo-Palatal
Sounds like: j sound like the 'g' in 'ginger' or 'j' in 'jeep' without voicing vibration
Unaspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: No air puff. Lips spread wide like smiling.
Tongue & Mouth Position: The blade of the tongue rises to make light contact with the hard palate.
Final Rhyme
ia
Vowel Group: -a vowel group
Sounds like: -ia rhymes with the 'ia' in 'piano'
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'yah'.
Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.
Tone
T4 (51)
5 → 1 (51)
4th Tone (High-Falling)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 4 starts high and drops abruptly, matching an emphatic 'No!' or a stern command in English speech.
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Listening trap: Confusing the fourth tone (jià, falling) with the first tone (jiā, high level) or third tone (jiǎ, dipping), which completely changes the meaning from marrying to home or fake.
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Physical Tone Gesture: A sharp, definitive karate chop downwards from head height to waist level, representing the decisive falling pitch of Tone 4.
3. Writing
Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 13 strokes
Writing Balance Rule: The left component (女) must be compressed slightly to make room for the wider, complex right component (家). Keep the horizontal strokes evenly spaced.
4. Components
Radical女 · Female radical (woman, female)
Semantic Clue (形旁):女 (indicates the female aspect of traditional marriage)
Phonetic Clue (声旁):家 (original sound: jiā)
A woman (女) leaves her original home to join a new household or family (家), representing traditional marriage.
女 woman or female semantic radical
家 home or family phonetic/semantic component
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
5· Phonetic Root: 家 (jiā)
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)
Origin: Combined from the 'woman' radical (女) representing the bride and the character for 'home/family' (家) supplying both the pronunciation and the concept of entering a new household.
Semantic Evolution: Originally specifically referred to a woman marrying and entering her husband's family. Over time, it extended to marrying off daughters and metaphorically to shifting blame or burdens onto others.
In ancient Chinese society, a woman's marriage was traditionally described as 'going to a family' (出嫁), contrasting with the groom's side 'taking a wife' (娶).
6. Sinosphere
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Kanji (Japanese)
On: カ (ka) / Kun: よめ.ぐ (yome.gu)
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story
A WOMAN (女) leaves her family to start a new HOME (家), and when she gets married (嫁), everyone cheers!