HanziGuru.孩 · hái
孩
hái[hai2]Tone 2

child

HSK 1
Guru Deep Dive

English · child

Cached lesson
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Topology:Left-right
Strokes:9
Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (子) must be compressed slightly to make room for the right phonetic component (亥), ensuring both halves balance harmoniously without the character becoming too wide.
1. Meaning

child

offspringbaby
noun / bound formNeutralBound morpheme#family#people#stages of life
Sample Usage
  • 孩子们在公园里玩。
    Háizimen zài gōngyuán lǐ wán.
    The children are playing in the park.
  • 他有一个可爱的小女孩。
    Tā yǒu yī gè kě'ài de xiǎo nǚhái.
    He has a cute little girl.
2. Sound
/[xaɪ̯³⁵]/Tone: 35
孩
háihai2
++
´(35)
=hái
Initial Consonant
h
Type: Velar Fricative
Sounds like: h like in 'hot'
Unaspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: Gentle throat friction (like fogging glasses on a cold day).
Tongue & Mouth Position: The tongue is relaxed at the floor of the mouth while air friction is produced in the glottis.
Final Rhyme
ai
Vowel Group: -a vowel group
Sounds like: ai rhymes with 'eye'
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'eye'.
Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.
Tone
T2 (35)
2nd Tone (Mid-Rising)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 2 starts mid and rises sharply to the top, exactly like asking 'Huh?' or 'What?' in English when seeking clarification.
Sandhi: When followed by another 3rd tone, hái changes to a 2nd tone, but it is typically used as hái (rising tone) in compound words like háizi.
👂
Listening trap: Confusing the rising tone (Tone 2) with Tone 1 or Tone 4, which changes meaning in other contexts, though hái is mostly fixed in compounds like háizi.
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: A rising hand gesture moving from low-mid to high, mirroring a question mark in the air.
3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 9 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (子) must be compressed slightly to make room for the right phonetic component (亥), ensuring both halves balance harmoniously without the character becoming too wide.

4. Components

Radical 子 · Child Radical (child, seed, offspring)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 子 (Provides the core meaning relating to a child or offspring.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 亥 (original sound: hái / hài)

The character combines the 'child' radical (子) on the left with the phonetic component (亥) on the right, which provides the sound 'hái'.

  • 子 child radical on the left
  • 亥 phonetic clue on the right
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: The character was formed by combining the pictographic concept of a child (子) with a phonetic sound provider (亥), pointing directly to the young of human beings.

Semantic Evolution: Originally referring generally to young children, its modern usage is heavily tied to compounds like háizi (child) and háimen (children).

  • The right component 亥 also serves as an earthly branch in the traditional Chinese calendar.
6. Sinosphere
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story

A little CHILD (子) stands outside high (hái) on a hill, calling out to his parents with a rising voice.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
亥
hài10th Earthly BranchThe root phonetic component without the child radical.
Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
该(gāi)
Has the speech radical (讠) instead of the child radical (子), meaning 'should' instead of 'child'.
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge
那个可爱的[___]子正在吃冰淇淋。
Clue: hái
Common Learner Pitfall

Treating 孩 as an independent standalone noun in modern spoken Chinese; it is almost always paired with 子 to form 孩子 (háizi).

Memory Prompts
Recognition: When you see 孩, what is its primary meaning and what common word does it form with 子?
Production: How do you write the character for 'child' (hái) using the child radical and phonetic component?
Real-World Video Context

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

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