屁 (pì) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

屁

pì[pi4]Tone 4

fart, flatulence, nonsense

Guru Deep Dive

English · fart, flatulence, nonsense

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Topology:Full enclosure

Strokes:7

Writing Balance Rule: The outer '尸' canopy arches gracefully over the inner '比' component, keeping the structure vertically balanced and open at the bottom right.

1. Meaning

fart

flatulencenonsenseworthless thingnothing at all (used in negative constructions)

noun / interjection / verbColloquial#body#slang#colloquialism#dismissal

Sample Usage

别放屁！
bié fàng pì!
Stop talking nonsense!
他懂个屁！
tā dǒng gè pì!
What does he know! (He knows damn all!)

2. Sound

/[pʰi⁵¹]/Tone: 51

屁

pìpi4

`(51)

=pì

Build the syllable

Step-by-step blending

Tone mark placement: Tone mark sits on "i" per main-vowel priority (a > e > o; in -iu/-ui the mark takes the second vowel).

Initial Consonant

Type: Aspirated Bilabial

Sounds like: p sound as in 'pat'

Aspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Strong puff of air! A tissue held before lips MUST fly forward.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Both lips pressed together tightly before releasing a burst of air.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -i vowel group

Sounds like: ee sound as in 'see'

Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'ee'.

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 English command or exclamation like 'No!' or 'Stop!'.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the 4th tone (pì) with the 1st or 2nd tone, or missing the sharp expiration burst on the initial p-.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A swift, forceful downward chop of the hand, representing a sharp drop from a high point.

3. Writing

Topology: Full enclosure · Strokes: 7 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The outer '尸' canopy arches gracefully over the inner '比' component, keeping the structure vertically balanced and open at the bottom right.

4. Components

Radical 尸 · corpse radical (body, corpse, house)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 尸 (represents the human body or hindquarters)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 比 (original sound: bǐ / pì)

A human body (尸) sitting down, making a comparison or sound related to the lower body (比).

尸 body or person
比 phonetic clue and comparative shape

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

21· Phonetic Root: 比 (bǐ)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Combined from the body radical (尸) indicating the human frame, and (比) providing the sound. Historically used to denote bodily wind or flatulence.

Semantic Evolution: Extended from literal flatulence to mean worthless speech ('talking fart' or nonsense), and further into an intensifier meaning 'nothing' or 'not a damn thing'.

Despite its vulgar classification, it is extremely common in colloquial northern Mandarin idioms and rhetorical flourishes.

6. Sinosphere

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

A person sitting down inside a room (尸) makes a sound like 'bee' (比), resulting in a sudden puff of wind (屁).

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

比

bǐto compare, ratio, than, BelgiumPhonetic Core (声旁)

批

pīto batch, to criticize, to ascertain+ 扌 (hand)

毕

bìto finish, complete, whole+ 十 (ten)

庇

bìto protect+ 广 (shelter)

Explore this family →

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

比(bǐ)

Missing the outer '尸' roof enclosure.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

他说的话全都是放[___]。

Clue: pì

Common Learner Pitfall

Using it improperly in formal writing; it is strictly colloquial and can be considered vulgar or crude outside of casual peer settings.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What does the character 屁 mean when used in expressions like '懂个屁'?

Production: How do you write the character for 'fart / nonsense' with 7 strokes using the corpse radical?

屁pìfart, flatulence, nonsense

Speed:

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