斟 (zhēn) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

斟

zhēn[zhen1]Tone 1

to pour

Guru Deep Dive

English · to pour

Cached lesson

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:13

Writing Balance Rule: The left side (the radical 氵) occupies about one-third of the width, while the complex right side (甚) takes up the remaining two-thirds. Keep the components balanced horizontally so the character does not tilt.

1. Meaning

to pour (liquid, such as tea or wine)

to deliberateto consider carefully

VerbFormal / Literary#actions#dining#cognition

Sample Usage

请帮我斟一杯茶。
Qǐng bāng wǒ zhēn yì bēi chá.
Please help me pour a cup of tea.
这件事我们需要再斟酌一下。
Zhè jiàn shì wǒmen xūyào zài zhēnzhuó yíxià.
We need to deliberate on this matter a bit more.

2. Sound

/[ʈʂən⁵⁵]/Tone: 55

斟

zhēnzhen1

¯(55)

=zhēn

Build the syllable

Step-by-step blending

zhen

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 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: -e vowel group

Sounds like: -en rhymes with 'en' in 'pen' or 'un' in 'sun'

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

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 the flat pitch of a musical note sung at the top of your comfortable vocal range.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the retroflex initial 'zh-' with the alveolar initial 'z-' (e.g. zhen vs zen). Make sure your tongue curls back.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Imagine a high, flat drone on a musical note, keeping your hand frozen high in the air without any rise or fall.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 13 strokes

4. Components

Radical 氵 · Water Radical (water, liquids, flowing substances)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 氵 (Indicates that the action involves pouring or liquids.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 甚 (original sound: shén / zhēn)

The water radical (氵) on the left combines with the phonetic and conceptual component 'extreme/what' (甚) on the right to represent pouring liquid to the brim.

氵 Water / liquid semantic clue
甚 Phonetic clue providing the sound zhēn

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

8· Phonetic Root: 甚 (shén)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Combined from 氵 (water) and 甚 (shén, acting as the phonetic sound provider), originally representing the act of pouring wine or water into a vessel.

Semantic Evolution: From the physical act of pouring liquids (like wine or tea), it extended metaphorically to 'pouring' one's thoughts out or 'deliberating' carefully.

Often found in classical Chinese literature in the compound '斟酌' (zhēnzhuó), meaning to deliberate or ponder.

6. Sinosphere

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

You use **water** (氵) flowing from a vessel **extremely** (甚) carefully when you **pour** (zhēn) precious tea for an honored guest.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

甚

shénvariant of 什[shen2]Phonetic Core (声旁)

勘

kānto investigate+ 力 (power)

戡

kānkill; suppress+ 戈 (halberd)

椹

shènvariant of 葚[shen4]+ 木 (tree)

Explore this family →

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

甚(shén)

甚 lacks the water radical (氵) on the left and means 'extreme' or forms part of 'what' (什么).

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

服务员，请帮我把茶水[___]满。

Clue: zhēn

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the character with 甚 (shén) by forgetting to include the water radical (氵) on the left.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see 斟 with pinyin zhēn, what two primary meanings come to mind?

Production: How do you write the character meaning 'to pour' or 'to deliberate' starting with the water radical?

斟zhēnto pour

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