Writing Balance Rule: The top component (日) must be compact and centered, while the bottom component (京) expands wider to give the character a stable base.
1. Meaning
scenery, view
circumstancesituationscene of a playsunlightsurname Jing
NounNeutralBound morpheme#nature#environment#theatre#abstract status
Sample Usage
这里的风景真美。
zhèlǐ de fǐngzhēng zhēnměi.
The scenery here is truly beautiful.
这种情况很复杂。
zhè zhǒng qíngkuàng hěn fùzá.
This kind of situation is very complicated.
2. Sound
/[t͡ɕiŋ²¹⁴]/Tone: 214
景
jǐngjing3
|
++
ˇ(214)
=jǐng
Initial Consonant
j
Type: Unaspirated Alveolo-Palatal
Sounds like: j sound as in 'jump'
Unaspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: No air puff. Lips spread wide like smiling.
Tongue & Mouth Position: Blade of the tongue touches the hard palate, releasing gently with friction.
Final Rhyme
ing
Vowel Group: -i vowel group
Sounds like: ing rhymes with 'ing' in 'sing'
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'eeng'.
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 low and rises, matching the skeptical English questioning intonation 'Really?'.
Sandhi: When followed by another Tone 3, jǐng shifts to a rising Tone 2 (35) sound, becoming jíng.
👂
Listening trap: Often confused with qǐng due to similar vowel endings, but jǐng uses an unaspirated 'j' sound similar to the 'j' in 'jump' rather than a heavily aspirated 'q'.
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: Start at a normal speaking pitch, dip down toward your chest, and sweep back upward like checking your watch on your wrist and lifting your arm.
3. Writing
Topology: Top-bottom · Strokes: 12 strokes
Writing Balance Rule: The top component (日) must be compact and centered, while the bottom component (京) expands wider to give the character a stable base.
4. Components
Radical日 · Sun Radical (sun, day)
Semantic Clue (形旁):日 (sunlight or daytime)
Phonetic Clue (声旁):京 (original sound: jīng)
The bright sun (日) shines brilliantly over the capital city (京), illuminating the grand scenery (景).
日 sun
京 capital city / phonetic clue
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
3· Phonetic Root: 景 (jǐng)
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)
Origin: Originally combined the sun (日) symbol with the capital (京) sound element to represent brilliant daylight and expansive views.
Semantic Evolution: From bright sunlight and broad daylight views, the meaning broadened to any scenery, landscape, and eventually abstract circumstances or situations.
In classical texts, 景 frequently meant sunlight or shadow cast by the sun before shifting to mean view or scene.
6. Sinosphere
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: ケイ / Kun: けしき
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story
Under the bright SUN (日), you stand in the CAPITAL city (京) admiring the breathtaking SCENERY (景).
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
惊
jīngstartled, frightenedReplaces the sun (日) with the heart radical (忄), making it about heart-shock rather than sunlight scenery.
影
yǐngshadow, imageAdds a hair/bristle radical (彡) on the right, representing wispy shadows cast by the sunlit scenery.
Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
京(jīng)
京 is just the bottom half meaning 'capital', while 景 includes the sun (日) on top to represent scenery.
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge
这座山的[___]非常优美，吸引了许多游客。
Clue: jǐng sè
Common Learner Pitfall
Confusing the tone contour of jǐng (Tone 3) with Tone 4 (jìng), which changes the meaning completely.
Memory Prompts
Recognition: When you see the character 景 with a sun on top and capital on the bottom, what does it mean?
Production: How do you write the character for 'scenery' or 'view' (jǐng)?
Real-World Video Context
Watch authentic native speakers pronounce and explain this word in real-world YouTube videos.
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景jǐngscenery, view, situation
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