摘 (zhāi) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

摘

zhāi[zhai1]Tone 1

to pick, pluck, or remove

HSK 5

Guru Deep Dive

English · to pick, pluck, or remove

Cached lesson

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:14

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (扌) should be narrower and slightly raised, leaving ample space for the complex right-side phonetic component (商) so the character remains balanced and does not tip over.

1. Meaning

to pick, pluck, or remove (flowers, fruit, glasses, hat)

to select or pick out (information, quotes)to borrow money at a time of urgent need

VerbNeutral#actions#harvesting#removing

Sample Usage

摘苹果
zhāi píngguǒ
to pick apples
摘眼镜
zhāi yǎnjìng
to take off glasses

2. Sound

/[ʈ͡ʂaɪ̯⁵⁵]/Tone: 55

摘

zhāizhai1

¯(55)

=zhāi

Initial Consonant

Type: Unaspirated Retroflex

Sounds like: j/dr retroflex sound

UnaspiratedRetroflex

Airflow Tactile Test: No burst of air. Tongue curled up. Tissue stays still.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip curled back near hard palate

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -a vowel group

Sounds like: rhymes with eye

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

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 flat and high (55), resembling a single sustained musical pitch at the top of your speaking voice.

👂

Listening trap: Beginners often confuse the retroflex initial 'zh-' with the alveolar affricate 'j-' or the retroflex 'ch-' (which is strongly aspirated).

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Tone 1 is a high, steady flat line across the very top of your vocal range, like a sustained musical note or a drone.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 14 strokes

4. Components

Radical 扌 · Hand radical (hand, action performed with the hand)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 扌 (indicates an action performed using the hand (picking, plucking, removing))

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 商 (original sound: shāng)

You use your hand (扌) to pluck or trade (商) goods off a shelf or fruit from a tree.

扌 hand component indicating physical action
商 phonetic component providing the general sound structure

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Combined from the hand radical (扌) representing physical action and 商 (shāng) acting as the phonetic indicator.

Semantic Evolution: Originally denoting the physical action of plucking or harvesting with the hand, it extended to taking off accessories (hats, glasses) and extracting or selecting text.

The integration of the hand signifier clearly marks it as a manual verb in ancient Chinese taxonomy.

6. Sinosphere

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

Imagine using your hand (扌) to pick a glowing star or a golden prize from a tall merchant cart (商), pulling it down to 'take' or 'pluck' it.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

商

shāngcommerce, quotientBase phonetic component without the hand radical.

嘀

dīto whisperUses the mouth radical (口) instead of hand for whispering.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

挤(jǐ)

挤 means to crowd or squeeze, using the same hand radical on the left but a different right-side component (齐).

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

妈妈在花园里[___]了一朵美丽的鲜花。

Clue: zhāi

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the high level Tone 1 (zhāi) with a rising or falling tone, or miswriting the complex right-hand component 商.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see the character 摘 with the hand radical and 商, what does it mean and how is it pronounced?

Production: How do you write and pronounce the verb meaning 'to pick fruit' or 'to take off glasses'?

摘zhāito pick, pluck, or remove

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