斂 (liǎn) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

斂

liǎn[lian3]Tone 3

to collect; to restrain

HSK 7

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敛

Multiple Readings (多音字):

Guru Deep Dive

English · to collect; to restrain

Cached lesson

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:11

Writing Balance Rule: The left side (the car/vehicle radical) is narrower and slightly elevated, while the right side (signifying tall or complete) is wider and bears more weight.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 斂 uses 僉 on the right side, which was simplified to 令 in the modern character 敛.

1. Meaning

to collect, gather, or levy; to hold back or restrain oneself

to draw back or fold in (wings, limbs)to put in a shroud or prepare for burial

VerbLiteraryBound morpheme#action#control#collection

Sample Usage

收敛
shōuliǎn
to restrain oneself, to rein in
敛财
liǎncái
to extort or illegally collect wealth

2. Sound

/[li̯än²¹⁴]/Tone: 214

斂

liǎnlian3

ˇ(214)

=liǎn

Build the syllable

Step-by-step blending

lian

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

Initial Consonant

Type: Alveolar Lateral

Sounds like: English l sound

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Air flows freely around both sides of tongue.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip touches the alveolar ridge right behind the upper front teeth.

Final Rhyme

ian

Vowel Group: -a vowel group

Sounds like: ee-ahn sound

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

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

Tone

T3 (214)

2 → 1 → 4 (214)

3rd Tone (Low-Dipping)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 3 dips down like a doubtful 'Really?' in English speech.

Sandhi: When followed by another 3rd tone syllable, liǎn changes to a 2nd tone (rising 35).

👂

Listening trap: Do not confuse the low dipping Tone 3 with Tone 4; ensure the voice dips down and finishes on an upward lift.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Trace a checkmark in the air: dip down sharply from medium pitch to the bottom, then rise up to the middle-high range.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 11 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left side (the car/vehicle radical) is narrower and slightly elevated, while the right side (signifying tall or complete) is wider and bears more weight.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 斂 uses 僉 on the right side, which was simplified to 令 in the modern character 敛.

4. Components

Radical 车 · Car Radical (Vehicle, cart, machinery)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 车 (Indicates gathering or transporting goods using a cart)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 令 (original sound: ling/lian sound clue)

A cart (车) loaded up under strict orders/commands (令) to gather and collect items into one place.

车 Vehicle or cart radical representing collection or hauling
令 Phonetic and structural component providing the sound

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

2· Phonetic Root: 斂

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally formed by combining a cart symbol (车) to represent gathering and loading goods with a phonetic element (令), indicating the act of collecting or hoarding items.

Semantic Evolution: From the physical act of loading things onto a cart to gather them, it broadened to abstract restraint, holding back emotions, and gathering wealth.

Frequently used in classic literature to describe reigning in one's temper or behavior.
Also associated historically with the preparation of bodies and shrouds for funerals.

6. Sinosphere

🇻🇳

Sino-Vietnamese

liễm

The Hán Việt reading 'liễm' corresponds to the Chinese 3rd tone dipping pattern.

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: レン (ren) / Kun: おさ.める (osa.meru)

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

렴

Sound Shift Bridge: The initial 'l-' and final '-ian' bridge smoothly into Japanese 'ren' and Vietnamese 'liễm'.

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

Imagine loading a cart (车) full of precious items under royal command (令) to **collect** taxes and **restrain** the unruly citizens.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

蘞

+ 艹 (plants)

Explore this family →

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

脸(liǎn)

脸 has the flesh/body radical (月) on the left because it means 'face', whereas 敛 has the cart radical (车).

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

他今天態度好了很多，懂得[___]一下自己的脾氣了。

Clue: liǎn

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing it with 脸 (liǎn - face) due to the identical pronunciation and similar right-hand phonetic component.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What does the literary character 敛 mean when you see it combined in 收敛?

Production: How do you write the character for 'to collect / restrain' with a cart radical on the left?

斂liǎnto collect; to restrain

Speed:

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