Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (廴) wraps gracefully under the right component (聿), maintaining a balanced and steady vertical axis.
1. Meaning
to build, construct, or establish
to found an organization or institutionto set up or erect a structure
VerbNeutral#action#construction#governance
Sample Usage
我们要建一座新 Lòu.
Wǒmen yào jiàn yī zuò xīn lóu.
We want to build a new building.
他们建立了公司。
Tāmen jiànlì le gōngsī.
They established the company.
2. Sound
/[t͡ɕi̯ɛn˥˩]/Tone: 51
建
jiànjian4
|
++
`(51)
=jiàn
Initial Consonant
j
Type: Unaspirated Alveolo-Palatal
Sounds like: j sound as in 'jeep' (alveolo-palatal affricate)
Unaspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: No air puff. Lips spread wide like smiling.
Tongue & Mouth Position: Blade of the tongue touches the hard palate, air is released gently without a burst of breath.
Final Rhyme
ian
Vowel Group: -a vowel group
Sounds like: -ian rhymes with 'yen' in English
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'yen'.
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 plunges straight down, exactly like shouting a sharp 'No!' or giving an abrupt command in English.
👂
Listening trap: Confusing the vowel ending '-ian' with '-uan', or dropping the tone into a neutral pitch.
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: A sharp, definitive nod downwards, mirroring the falling drop of Tone 4.
3. Writing
Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 8 strokes
Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (廴) wraps gracefully under the right component (聿), maintaining a balanced and steady vertical axis.
4. Components
Radical廴 · Long stride radical (motion, walking, or stride)
Semantic Clue (形旁):廴 (indicates movement or laying down a foundation path)
Phonetic Clue (声旁):聿 (original sound: jiàn)
Imagine walking along a path (廴) carrying a writing brush or building tool (聿) to lay down plans and construct a new building.
廴 long stride / movement
聿 brush / stylus / creation
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
4· Phonetic Root: 聿 (yù)
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)
Origin: Originally combined the concept of motion or a road (廴) with an implement or hand holding a brush (聿), symbolizing the deliberate act of planning, laying out, and founding structures or cities.
Semantic Evolution: Shifted from the physical act of laying down foundations and drawing plans to general meanings of establishment, founding, and construction in modern Chinese.
Often used in historical titles and geographical names to denote founding dynasties or establishing regional capitals.
6. Sinosphere
🇻🇳
Sino-Vietnamese
kiến
Corresponds to the Vietnamese sắc tone (high rising), while the Mandarin tone is falling.
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: ケン (ken) / Kun: た.てる (ta.teru)
🇰🇷
Hanja (Korean)
건
Sound Shift Bridge: The Mandarin 'jiàn' corresponds closely with Sino-Xenic readings like Japanese 'ken' and Korean 'geon/geon', preserving ancient rhyming patterns.
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story
To BUILD a house, you take a long STRIDE (廴) across the land while holding your BRUSH (聿) to draw the blueprint.
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
健
jiànhealthy / robustAdded the person radical (亻) to indicate a strong, healthy person.
键
jiànkey / buttonAdded the metal radical (钅) to denote a mechanical key or computer key.
Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
健(jiàn)
健 has the person radical (亻) on the left for human health, whereas 建 has the stride radical (廴) for building structures.
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge
我们准备在市中心___一座新图书馆。
Clue: jiàn
Common Learner Pitfall
Confusing 建 (jiàn) with 健 (jiàn) due to identical pronunciation, failing to distinguish between the person radical and the stride radical.
Memory Prompts
Recognition: What does the character 建 mean and how is it pronounced with its tone?
Production: How do you write the character for 'to build / establish' (jiàn) and what radical does it use?
Real-World Video Context
Watch authentic native speakers pronounce and explain this word in real-world YouTube videos.
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建jiànto build / to establish
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