Writing Balance Rule: The left side (the彳 radical) should be slightly narrower than the right side (聿), giving the character a stable, balanced vertical partition.
1. Meaning
law
ruleregulationsurname Lü
NounNeutral#law#society#governance
Sample Usage
法律
fǎlǜ
law
纪律
jìlǜ
discipline
2. Sound
/[ly⁵¹]/Tone: 51
律
lǜlv4
|
++
`(51)
=lǜ
Initial Consonant
l
Type: Alveolar Lateral
Sounds like: l sound
Unaspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: Air flows freely around both sides of tongue.
Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip touching the alveolar ridge behind upper front teeth, air escaping laterally.
Final Rhyme
ü
Vowel Group: -v vowel group
Sounds like: French 'u' or German 'ü' sound
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'ü'.
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 sharply down, just like a firm, absolute command or the English interjection 'No!' said with finality.
👂
Listening trap: Confusing the rounded front vowel 'ü' (-ù) with the back vowel 'u' (-u). English speakers often substitute 'lu' (as in 'loo') for 'lù' (rounded 'ly').
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: A sharp, commanding downward nod of the head, starting high and dropping instantly to the bottom, mirroring a judge's gavel striking down.
3. Writing
Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 9 strokes
Writing Balance Rule: The left side (the彳 radical) should be slightly narrower than the right side (聿), giving the character a stable, balanced vertical partition.
Semantic Clue (形旁):彳 (Indicates movement or conduct along a regulated path)
Phonetic Clue (声旁):聿 (original sound: yù / lǜ)
A person taking steps (彳) guided by a writing brush (聿) that records the rules and laws of society.
彳 stepping / action
聿 brush / law script
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)
Origin: Originally combined 彳 (step/conduct) and 聿 (writing brush/hand holding a brush), representing the written codes and rules by which people regulate their conduct and steps in society.
Semantic Evolution: From 'standard code or rule written down' to general laws, regulations, and musical pitches.
Ancient Chinese legal codes were carefully brushed onto bamboo strips, linking the writing brush (聿) directly to governance.
6. Sinosphere
🇻🇳
Sino-Vietnamese
luật
Corresponds to the Vietnamese heavy drop tone (nặng) or sharp check.
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: りつ (ritsu), りゅつ (ryutsu)
🇰🇷
Hanja (Korean)
률 (ryul) or 율 (yul)
Sound Shift Bridge: The historical initial 'l-' and final rhyme elements parallel regular Sino-Xenic borrowing patterns across Japanese and Korean.
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story
To establish the law (律), people must take careful steps (彳) while holding a official writing brush (聿) to record every single rule.
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
津
jīnferry, salivaUses water radical (氵) instead of stepping radical (彳) with the same phonetic 聿.
笔
bǐpen, brushSimplified character containing bamboo (竹) and wool/hair (毛).
Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
津(jīn)
津 has the water radical (氵) for ferry/waters, whereas 律 has the stepping radical (彳) for laws and regulations.
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge
我们要遵守国家的 [___]。
Clue: fǎ lǜ
Common Learner Pitfall
Mispronouncing the rounded vowel 'ǜ' as standard English 'u' (oo), resulting in lu instead of lü.
Memory Prompts
Recognition: What does the character 律 mean when combined in 法律 (fǎlǜ)?
Production: How do you write the character for 'law' (lù) featuring the stepping radical and writing brush component?
Real-World Video Context
Watch authentic native speakers pronounce and explain this word in real-world YouTube videos.
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律lǜlaw
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