HanziGuru.尾 · wěi
尾
wěi[wei3]Tone 3

tail

HSK 4
Multiple Readings (多音字):
Guru Deep Dive

English · tail

Cached lesson
1 / 1
Topology:Top-bottom
Strokes:7
Writing Balance Rule: The top component should crown the bottom part gracefully without overpowering it; keep the vertical stroke centered.
1. Meaning

tail

remainderremnantextremityclassifier for fish
Noun / ClassifierNeutral#anatomy#animals#measurements#space
Sample Usage
  • 这只狗的尾巴很短。
    Zhè zhǐ gǒu de wěiba hěn duǎn.
    This dog's tail is very short.
  • 他买了两尾鱼。
    Tā mǎi le liǎng wěi yú.
    He bought two fish.
2. Sound
/[weɪ̯²¹⁴]/Tone: 214
尾
wěiwei3
++
ˇ(214)
=wěi
Initial Consonant
w
Type: Labio-Velar Glide (Zero Initial)
Sounds like: w sound like English 'w' in 'water'
Unaspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: Round lips tightly before gliding into vowel.
Tongue & Mouth Position: Lips rounded, back of tongue raised toward soft palate.
Final Rhyme
ei
Vowel Group: -e vowel group
Sounds like: -ei rhymes with 'ay' in 'day'
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'ay'.
Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.
Tone
T3 (214)
3rd Tone (Low-Dipping)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 3 dips low in pitch before rising, similar to an incredulous English 'Really?'
Sandhi: When followed by another 3rd tone syllable, wěi changes to a 2nd tone (wéi).
👂
Listening trap: Do not confuse with wéi (Tone 2, rising) or wèi (Tone 4, falling).
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: Trace a checkmark in the air: dip down from mid-high to low, then rise up sharply to high.
3. Writing

Topology: Top-bottom · Strokes: 7 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The top component should crown the bottom part gracefully without overpowering it; keep the vertical stroke centered.

4. Components

Radical 尸 · Corpse / Awning radical (body, corpse, or covering structure)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 毛 (hair or fur)

Picture a body (尸) with hair (毛) hanging off the back end, representing a furry tail.

  • 尸 body framework
  • 毛 hair / fur
5. History
Liushu category: Compound ideogram (会意)

Origin: Oracle bone scripts show a person (尸) with a distinctive furry appendage or hair attached to their rear, depicting a tail.

Semantic Evolution: Originally meant an animal's tail, it extended metaphorically to mean 'end', 'remainder', and later became used as a traditional classifier for fish.

  • In classical texts, it was also used to denote the person acting as a proxy or spirit medium during ancestral sacrifices.
6. Sinosphere
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: ビ / Kun: お
🇰🇷
Hanja (Korean)
尾
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story

An animal's body (尸) covered in fur (毛) wiggles its TAIL at the end of the line.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
毛(máo)
毛 means hair/fur and lacks the corpse/body top/left structure (尸) that '尾' contains.
局(jú)
局 uses the enclosure/wrapper radical (匚) instead of 尸, and has 可 on the right.
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge
这只猫的[___]很长。
Clue: wěi ba
Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the tone: pronouncing wěi as wéi (Tone 2) or forgetting that it acts as a measure word for fish.

Memory Prompts
Recognition: What does 尾 mean and what is its primary pronunciation?
Production: How do you write the character for 'tail' (wěi)?
Real-World Video Context

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

Search theme
Accent preference

Results are live YouTube search — accents and levels aren't verified.

尾wěitail
Speed:
Searching YouTube for native pronunciation videos...
0 / 0
Watch on YouTubeMore Results on YouTube