Writing Balance Rule: The left component (彳) is narrower and taller, while the right component (芷/辵 variant structure) provides the wider base and sweeping bottom horizontal stroke.
1. Meaning
to migrate or change residence
to transfer positionto shift or change
VerbLiterary#movement#relocation#society
Sample Usage
孟母三迁
mèng mǔ sān qiān
Mencius's mother moved three times (to find a good environment for her son)
迁徙
qiān xǐ
migration, to migrate (birds, people)
2. Sound
/[ɕi²¹⁴]/Tone: 214
徙
xǐxi3
|
++
ˇ(214)
=xǐ
Build the syllable
Step-by-step blending
xi
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
x
Type: Alveolo-Palatal Fricative
Sounds like: sh (soft palatal hiss like the 'sh' in sheep, but with tongue tip behind lower front teeth)
Unaspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: Hissing friction with lips stretched wide in a smile.
Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue blade raised near the hard palate with a wide opening for air friction.
Final Rhyme
i
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
T3 (214)
2 → 1 → 4 (214)
3rd Tone (Low-Dipping)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Starts at a medium pitch, dips down smoothly to your lowest comfortable speaking range, and rises back up, matching the cadence of an incredulous 'Really?'.
Sandhi: When followed by another 3rd tone syllable, changes to a 2nd tone (rising 35).
👂
Listening trap: Confusing the alveolo-palatal 'x' with the retroflex 'sh', or missing the dipping contour of Tone 3.
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: Trace a checkmark in the air: dip down from medium height to low chest level, then sweep up high to the right.
3. Writing
Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 11 strokes
Writing Balance Rule: The left component (彳) is narrower and taller, while the right component (芷/辵 variant structure) provides the wider base and sweeping bottom horizontal stroke.
4. Components
Radical彳 · stepping step radical (step with the left foot, movement)
Semantic Clue (形旁):彳 (indicates movement or walking)
Phonetic Clue (声旁):止 (original sound: zhǐ)
A foot step (彳) combined with a foot/toe stopping or moving (止) gives the combined sense of moving from one place to another.
彳 step, walking
止 foot print, stopping point
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
2· Phonetic Root: 徙 (xǐ)
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)
Origin: Originally combined '彳' (movement) with '止' (foot) to denote walking, moving, or changing one's dwelling place.
Semantic Evolution: From general walking and movement in ancient texts to specifically changing residence or migrating in modern literary Chinese.
Frequently appears in historical records regarding the forced or voluntary migration of populations.
6. Sinosphere
🇻🇳
Sino-Vietnamese
tỉ
The Chinese 3rd tone corresponds roughly to the Vietnamese hỏi or ngã tone.
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: シ / Kun: うつ.る, うつ.す
🇰🇷
Hanja (Korean)
천
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story
You take a step (彳) with your foot (止) to pack your bags and change your residence (徙).