扁 (piān) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

扁

piān[pian1]Tone 1

flat, small, surname Pian

HSK 6

Multiple Readings (多音字):

Guru Deep Dive

English · flat, small, surname Pian

Cached lesson

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Topology:Full enclosure

Strokes:9

Writing Balance Rule: Keep the outer frame (户) broad and well-balanced, leaving enough breathing room for the inner component (册) inside.

1. Meaning

flat

smallsurname Pian

AdjectiveNeutralBound morpheme#shape#descriptions#surnames

Sample Usage

扁桃体
biǎntáotǐ
tonsil (note: 扁 here can also be read biǎn for flat)
扁舟
piānzhōu
a small boat

2. Sound

/[pʰi̯än⁵⁵]/Tone: 55

扁

piānpian1

¯(55)

=piān

Initial Consonant

Type: Aspirated Bilabial

Sounds like: p as in 'pen'

Aspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Strong puff of air! A tissue held before lips MUST fly forward.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Both lips together, releasing a strong puff of air.

Final Rhyme

ian

Vowel Group: -a vowel group

Sounds like: -ian rhymes with 'yen'

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

Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.

Tone

T1 (55)

5 → 5 (55)

1st Tone (High-Flat)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 1 is a high, steady pitch, similar to sustaining a high musical note without any inflection.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing it with the third tone variant biǎn (flat), or mishearing the initial 'p-' as 'b-'.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A steady, high horizontal line drawn in the air, matching the high level tone (Tone 1).

3. Writing

Topology: Full enclosure · Strokes: 9 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: Keep the outer frame (户) broad and well-balanced, leaving enough breathing room for the inner component (册) inside.

4. Components

Radical 户 · Door Radical (door, household)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 户 (indicates a structure or opening)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 册 (original sound: piān / cè)

A door frame (户) enclosing records or thin booklets (册), symbolizing something thin and flat like a flat book or tablet.

户 door / frame
册 booklets / records

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

18· Phonetic Root: 扁 (piān)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally combined an element representing a flat structure or door with phonetic indicators denoting flatness and thinness.

Semantic Evolution: From an original sense of thin or flat objects to describing small boats (piānzhōu) and general flatness.

Often used in classical Chinese literature to describe small, drifting boats.

6. Sinosphere

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

Imagine sliding a thin, FLAT book (册) right through a narrow DOOR (户) so it lands completely flat on the floor.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

扁

piānsmall, flatBase character

篇

piānarticle, piece of writingAdds bamboo radical (竹) at the top for bamboo slips/writings.

骗

piànto cheat, deceiveAdds horse radical (马) on the left for a galloping trick.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

篇(piān)

篇 has the bamboo radical (竹) on top because it refers to written articles or chapters, whereas 扁 uses the door radical (户).

骗(piàn)

骗 has the horse radical (马) on the left, used for actions involving deception or leaping.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

江面上漂着一[___]孤舟。

Clue: piān

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the reading piān (flat/small, used in 扁舟) with the much more common biǎn (flat, as in 扁担).

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What does 扁 mean when pronounced piān in literary contexts like 扁舟?

Production: How do you write the character for 'small boat' using 扁 (piānzhōu)?

扁piānflat, small, surname Pian

Speed:

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