Writing Balance Rule: Keep the left component (hand radical) slightly narrower and positioned higher, while the right phonetic component spreads out to fill the bottom-right space harmoniously.
1. Meaning
to tear, to rip, to tear apart
to rip opento tear down
VerbNeutral#action#destruction#manual activity
Sample Usage
撕信
sī xìn
to tear a letter
撕毁
sī huǐ
to tear up, to demolish
2. Sound
/[sɿ˥]/Tone: 55
撕
sīsi1
|
++
¯(55)
=sī
Build the syllable
Step-by-step blending
si
Tone mark placement: Tone mark sits on "i" per main-vowel priority (a > e > o; in -iu/-ui the mark takes the second vowel).
Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip near the lower teeth ridge, air hissing through a narrow groove.
Final Rhyme
i (-i*)
Vowel Group: -a vowel group
Sounds like: apical vowel sounding like a buzzing 'uh' or prolonged sibilant buzz after s
Note: Written as 'i (-i*)', pronounced as rounded 'i' [y].
Mouth Shape Guide: Combine initial 'zh-' (jr) with final '-i' (rr/zz).
Common Learner Trap: Do NOT pronounce '-i' as 'ee' after zh-! Keep your tongue in the consonant position and buzz 'rr/zz'.
Tone
T1 (55)
5 → 5 (55)
1st Tone (High-Flat)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 1 stays flat and high at the ceiling of your vocal pitch, similar to holding a high musical note without wavering.
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Listening trap: Do not confuse the apical vowel sound [ɿ] after 's' with the English 'ee' sound. It is a friction-driven vowel where the tongue stays in the sibilant groove position.
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Physical Tone Gesture: A high, flat, unwavering horizontal line drawn in the air at the top of your vocal range, matching the high level tone.
3. Writing
Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 15 strokes
Writing Balance Rule: Keep the left component (hand radical) slightly narrower and positioned higher, while the right phonetic component spreads out to fill the bottom-right space harmoniously.
4. Components
Radical扌 · Hand Radical (Hand action or manual manipulation)
Semantic Clue (形旁):扌 (Indicates an action performed with the hands)
Phonetic Clue (声旁):斯 (original sound: sī)
The left side is the hand radical (扌), showing that you use your hands. The right side is sī (斯), providing the sound clue and root meaning of splitting or parting.
扌 Hand action
斯 Phonetic and structural partner
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
6· Phonetic Root: 斯 (sī)
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)
Origin: Combined from the hand radical (扌) representing manual force and 斯 (sī) acting as the phonetic indicator, reflecting the physical act of pulling something apart with both hands.
Semantic Evolution: Originally referred specifically to tearing cloth or paper with the hands, and later generalized to tearing down agreements, structures, or metaphorically ripping things apart.
The component 斯 originally carried a sense of cutting or separating, which reinforced the tearing meaning when paired with the hand radical.
6. Sinosphere
🇻🇳
Sino-Vietnamese
tư
High level tone in Mandarin corresponds to ngang tone in Vietnamese.
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: シ / Kun: さ.く
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story
You use your two HANDS (扌) to viciously rip and TEAR a piece of paper, making a loud 'SSSS' sound as it splits in half.