帥 (shuài) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

帥

shuài[shuai4]Tone 4

handsome, commander

HSK 4

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帅

Guru Deep Dive

English · handsome, commander

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:5

Writing Balance Rule: Keep the left component (巾) compact on the left side, and position the right component (𠂉 and vertical strokes) to give it a balanced, commanding stance without leaning too far right.

1. Meaning

handsome, dashing, or a military commander / general

to lead or commandcool or awesome in colloquial speechthe Red general piece in Chinese chess

Adjective / Verb / NounNeutral / Colloquial#appearance#leadership#military#games

Sample Usage

他长得很帅。
Tā zhǎng de hěn shuài.
He is very handsome.
这辆车真帅！
Zhè liàng chē zhēn shuài!
This car is so cool!

2. Sound

/[ʂuai̯⁵¹]/Tone: 51

帥

shuàishuai4

`(51)

=shuài

Initial Consonant

Type: Retroflex Fricative

Sounds like: sh sound with tongue curled back (retroflex)

UnaspiratedRetroflex

Airflow Tactile Test: Hollow wind sound through curled tongue channel.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip curled back near the hard palate

Final Rhyme

uai

Vowel Group: -a vowel group

Sounds like: rhymes with wide or 'oo-eye' glide

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

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 sharply to the bottom of your vocal range, matching an emphatic command.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the retroflex initial 'sh-' with the alveolar 's-' (suài vs shuài). Ensure your tongue curls back for the retroflex sound.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Tone 4 is a sharp, authoritative downward chop, like nodding 'yes!' decisively or shouting 'Hey!' downwards.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 5 strokes

4. Components

Radical 巾 · Cloth / Turban Radical (Cloth, banner, or headwear)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 巾 (Indicates a banner, flag, or uniform worn by a commander)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 𠂉 (original sound: shuai)

A commander (𠂉) stands holding or wearing a military banner or official cloth uniform (巾).

巾 Cloth / banner
𠂉 Phonetic and top element representing a person / leader

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally derived from a combination representing a military standard or banner hoisted by a leader to command troops.

Semantic Evolution: From 'military commander holding a banner' to 'leading forces', then generalizing to 'having a commanding/impressive appearance' (handsome), and finally modern slang for 'cool'.

In Chinese chess (Xiangqi), the red general piece is explicitly labeled with 帥 (shuài).

6. Sinosphere

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

A **handsome** (shuài) **commander** wearing a crisp uniform and holding high a cloth banner (巾) looks utterly cool as he leads his troops into battle.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

帅

shuàiHandsome / CommanderBase character

率

shuàiRate / ratioAdds extra top components above the cloth element

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

率(shuài / lǜ)

率 has a more complex top structure, whereas 帅 uses a simpler top element over 巾.

师(shī)

师 (teacher) has a left blade/master component (师) instead of the cloth banner (巾).

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

他穿這件衣服看起來很[___]。

Clue: shuài

Common Learner Pitfall

Forgetting to curl the tongue for the retroflex initial 'sh-' and accidentally pronouncing it like an English 's', or misapplying Tone 4 as a flat or rising tone.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see 帅, what are its two primary meanings (one visual/colloquial, one military)?

Production: How do you write and pronounce the character for 'handsome / commander' with Pinyin?

帥shuàihandsome, commander

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