搁 (gē) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

搁

gē[ge1]Tone 1

to place, to put aside, to shelve

HSK 7

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擱

Multiple Readings (多音字):

Guru Deep Dive

English · to place, to put aside, to shelve

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:12

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (hand component) should be narrower and slightly elevated, leaving enough breathing room for the right phonetic component to display its vertical strokes.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 擱 uses the same simplified layout as the modern form 搁, maintaining the standard hand radical on the left.

1. Meaning

to place or put something somewhere

to put aside or delay an actionto endure or bear (colloquial)to shelve a project or plan

VerbNeutral#action#position#management

Sample Usage

把书搁在桌子上。
bǎ shū gē zài zhuōzi shàng.
Put the book on the table.
这件事先搁置起来。
zhè jiàn shì xiān gēzhì qǐlái.
Let's put this matter aside for now.

2. Sound

/[kɤ⁵⁵]/Tone: 55

搁

gēge1

¯(55)

=gē

Build the syllable

Step-by-step blending

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

Initial Consonant

Type: Unaspirated Velar

Sounds like: g as in 'go'

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: No burst of air (sounds like 'c' in Vietnamese 'cá' or 'k' in English 'skate').

Tongue & Mouth Position: Back of the tongue touches the soft palate, releasing without a strong burst of air.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -e vowel group

Sounds like: -uh as in 'the' or 'duh'

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

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 sung on a high, unchanging pitch, similar to a musical note sustained at the top of your vocal range.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing it with the fourth tone 'gè' (个) or second tone 'gé' (格). Pay close attention to the high level pitch of Tone 1 versus the falling or rising contours.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A steady, flat line drawn high in the air, matching the level high pitch of Tone 1.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 12 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (hand component) should be narrower and slightly elevated, leaving enough breathing room for the right phonetic component to display its vertical strokes.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 擱 uses the same simplified layout as the modern form 搁, maintaining the standard hand radical on the left.

4. Components

Radical 扌 · Hand Radical (Hand, manual action)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 扌 (Indicates that the action is performed using the hand (placing, putting).)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 各 (original sound: gè / gē)

A hand (扌) uses each/every (各) available spot to place or set objects down.

扌 Hand component indicating physical action
各 Phonetic and conceptual hint meaning 'each/every'

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

2· Phonetic Root: 阁 (gé)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Combined from the hand radical (扌) showing physical placement and the phonetic element 各, representing the sound and the concept of distributing things to various places.

Semantic Evolution: Originally denoting the physical action of putting something down with the hand, it later expanded to abstract concepts like shelving plans or delaying tasks.

The phonetic component 各 provides both the pronunciation and a sense of spreading or placing items across different locations.

6. Sinosphere

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

You use your HAND (扌) to set items down in EACH (各) designated spot on the shelf.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

阁

gépavilion, cabinetPhonetic Core (声旁)

Explore this family →

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

格(gé)

Uses the tree/wood radical (木) instead of the hand radical (扌), meaning frame or standard.

阁(gé)

Uses the gate/door enclosure (门) instead of the hand radical, meaning pavilion.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

把这件事情先[___]在一边吧。

Clue: gē

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the hand radical (扌) with other radicals like wooden (木) or gate (门), leading to completely different characters like 格 or 阁.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What does the character 搁 mean and how is it pronounced with tone?

Production: How do you write the character for 'to put aside / to place' (gē) using the hand radical?

搁gēto place, to put aside, to shelve

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