HanziGuru.崩 · bēng
崩
bēng[beng1]Tone 1

to collapse

HSK 7
Guru Deep Dive

English · to collapse

Cached lesson
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Topology:Left-right
Strokes:11
Writing Balance Rule: The left side (山) is narrow and compact, while the right side (崩 phonetic part) is wider, balanced to avoid leaning.
1. Meaning

to collapse or fall into ruins

death of a king or emperorbursting or splitting opendemise
VerbFormal#destruction#geology#history
Sample Usage
  • 这座山突然崩塌了。
    zhè zuò shān tū rán bēng tā le.
    This mountain suddenly collapsed.
  • 我的心态快要崩了。
    wǒ de xīn tài kuài yào bēng le.
    My mental state is about to break down.
2. Sound
/[pəŋ⁵⁵]/Tone: 55
崩
bēngbeng1
++
¯(55)
=bēng
Build the syllable
Step-by-step blending
beng
Tone mark placement: Tone mark sits on "e" per main-vowel priority (a > e > o; in -iu/-ui the mark takes the second vowel).
Initial Consonant
b
Type: Unaspirated Bilabial
Sounds like: b sound as in English 'bed'
Unaspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: No burst of air. A tissue in front of lips should stay still.
Tongue & Mouth Position: Both lips pressed together and released gently
Final Rhyme
eng
Vowel Group: -e vowel group
Sounds like: -eng rhymes with rung
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'uhng'.
Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.
Tone
T1 (55)
1st Tone (High-Flat)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 1 is flat and high, similar to sustaining a high musical note without any rise or fall.
Sandhi: No special tone sandhi rules apply in isolation.
👂
Listening trap: Confusing the nasal ending '-eng' with '-an' or '-ang'.
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: A high, flat horizontal hand movement representing the high level pitch of Tone 1.
3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 11 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left side (山) is narrow and compact, while the right side (崩 phonetic part) is wider, balanced to avoid leaning.

4. Components

Radical 山 · Mountain Radical (Mountain, hill, or terrain)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 山 (Indicates geological formations, mountains, or things falling apart structurally.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 朋 (original sound: péng)

A mountain (山) shakes and splits apart like friends (朋) scattering in different directions during an earthquake.

  • 山 Mountain / geological sense
  • 朋 Phonetic clue providing the 'beng' sound
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Combined from the mountain radical (山) representing terrain and (朋) as a phonetic indicator.

Semantic Evolution: Originally referred to mountain collapses or landslides, later extended to the death of emperors (崩驾) and general structural or psychological breakdowns.

  • In ancient times, the death of an emperor was specifically referred to as 'bēng' (崩), symbolizing that the pillar of the state had fallen like a collapsed mountain.
6. Sinosphere
🇻🇳
Sino-Vietnamese
băng
High level tone in Mandarin corresponds to level or rising tones in Sino-Vietnamese borrowings.
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: ホウ / Kun: くず.れる
🇰🇷
Hanja (Korean)
붕
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story

A giant MOUNTAIN (山) starts to crack and crumble because two FRIENDS (朋) were jumping up and down on it, causing a massive COLLAPSE (bēng).

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
蹦
bèngto jump; to bounce; to hop+ 足 (foot)
嘣
bēng(onom.) thump; boom+ 口 (mouth)
繃
+ 糹 (thread)
镚
bèngsmall coin; dime+ 钅 (metal)
Explore this family →
Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
朋(péng)
朋 means friend and has two moon/flesh shapes side by side without the mountain radical on the left.
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge
连续的暴雨导致山体[___]了。
Clue: bēng
Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the tone 1 pronunciation (bēng) with falling tone or mixing up the phonetic component 朋 with other structures.

Memory Prompts
Recognition: What does 崩 mean when used in the context of mountains or mental state?
Production: How do you write the character for 'to collapse' (bēng) combining a mountain and a phonetic part?
Real-World Video Context

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

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