恤 (xù) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

恤

xù[xu4]Tone 4

sympathy

HSK 7

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卹

Multiple Readings (多音字):

Guru Deep Dive

English · sympathy

Cached lesson

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:9

Writing Balance Rule: The left component (heart radical) is compressed slightly to make room for the right phonetic component, maintaining a balanced center of gravity.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 卹 is simplified to 恤. The right component 血 (blood) is written with simplified internal strokes.

1. Meaning

sympathy and relief

anxietyto sympathizeto give reliefto compensate

Verb / NounFormal / LiteraryBound morpheme#emotions#social welfare#compassion

Sample Usage

抚恤金
fǔ xù jīn
pension for the families of the deceased / relief fund
恤孤
xù gū
to care for orphans and show them sympathy

2. Sound

/[ɕy˥˩]/Tone: 51

恤

xùxu4

`(51)

=xù

Build the syllable

Step-by-step blending

Tone mark placement: Tone mark sits on "u" per main-vowel priority (a > e > o; in -iu/-ui the mark takes the second vowel).

Initial Consonant

Type: Alveolo-Palatal Fricative

Sounds like: soft sh sound produced further forward in the mouth

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Hissing friction with lips stretched wide in a smile.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Blade of the tongue approaches the hard palate while the tip rests behind the lower front teeth.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -v vowel group

Sounds like: French 'u' or German 'ü' sound

Note: Written as 'u', pronounced as rounded 'ü' [y].

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 straight down, exactly like shouting a sharp 'No!' or 'Down!' in English.

👂

Listening trap: Often confused with xiù or xū if the vowel quality or tone drop is rushed.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A sharp, forceful downward karate chop, starting high and dropping instantly to the floor.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 9 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left component (heart radical) is compressed slightly to make room for the right phonetic component, maintaining a balanced center of gravity.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 卹 is simplified to 恤. The right component 血 (blood) is written with simplified internal strokes.

4. Components

Radical 忄 · Vertical Heart Radical (Heart, emotions, psychological state)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 忄 (Indicates emotions, care, and sympathy stemming from the heart.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 血 (original sound: xuè)

The vertical heart radical (忄) on the left represents feelings and inner state, combined with the blood symbol (血) on the right, portraying feelings welling up deeply from within the bloodstream—empathy, anxiety, and compassionate relief.

忄 heart / emotion
血 blood / deep inner essence

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

4· Phonetic Root: 血 (xiě)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Formed as a phono-semantic compound where忄provides the emotional meaning relating to feelings and inner anxiety, and 血 provides the sound and an association with the vital life force.

Semantic Evolution: Originally conveyed deep inner anxiety or sorrow, which expanded over time to include showing compassion, granting financial relief, and compensating those in distress.

In classical texts, it frequently appeared in contexts describing state relief given to disaster victims or grieving families.

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: シュツ (shutsu) / ジュツ (jutsu) / Kun: うれ.える (ure.eru)

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

휼

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

Your **heart** (忄) feels the heavy, bleeding (**血**) sorrow and **anxiety** of others, prompting you to rush forward to offer **sympathy and relief**.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

血

xiěbloodPhonetic Core (声旁)

洫

xùto ditch; a moat+ 氵 (water)

裇

xūsee T裇[T xu1]+ 衤 (clothes)

Explore this family →

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

恤(xù)

Do not confuse with 皿 (dish) or 盐 (salt); remember the heart radical on the left indicates deep emotion and sympathy.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

政府发给阵亡将士家属抚[___]金。

Clue: xù

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the simplified right-hand side component with unrelated radicals or forgetting the left vertical heart radical entirely.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see 恤, what two core concepts come to mind?

Production: How do you write the character for 'sympathy / relief' (xù) using the heart radical and blood component?

恤xùsympathy

Speed:

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