Writing Balance Rule: Keep the left sun radical (日) narrower and slightly higher, while the right phonetic component (青) occupies more horizontal space and extends lower to maintain visual equilibrium.
1. Meaning
clear or fine weather
clearing up (after rain or clouds)
AdjectiveNeutral#weather#nature#sky
Sample Usage
今天天气很好，是晴天。
jīn tiān tiān qì hěn hǎo, shì qíng tiān.
Today the weather is very good, it is a clear day.
雨过天晴
yǔ guò tiān qíng
After rain comes clear weather (idiom: after a storm comes a calm).
2. Sound
/[t͡ɕʰɪŋ³⁵]/Tone: 35
晴
qíngqing2
|
++
´(35)
=qíng
Initial Consonant
q
Type: Aspirated Alveolo-Palatal
Sounds like: ch sound produced with the tongue blade near the lower teeth
Aspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: Extremely strong burst of breath! Tissue held before mouth MUST fly.
Tongue & Mouth Position: Blade of the tongue touches the back of the lower teeth, middle of the tongue raises toward the hard palate, releasing a sharp puff of air.
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
T2 (35)
3 → 5 (35)
2nd Tone (Mid-Rising)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 2 starts at a mid pitch and rises sharply to the top, exactly like asking 'What?' in English ('qíng?').
👂
Listening trap: Confusing the aspirated initial 'q' ([t͡ɕʰ]) with the unaspirated 'j' ([t͡ɕ]), or mishearing the high-rising Tone 2 for Tone 1.
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: Tone 2 rises like a questioning upward glance, moving from mid to high pitch (35). Trace your finger rising diagonally up into the air.
3. Writing
Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 12 strokes
Writing Balance Rule: Keep the left sun radical (日) narrower and slightly higher, while the right phonetic component (青) occupies more horizontal space and extends lower to maintain visual equilibrium.
4. Components
Radical日 · Sun Radical (sun, day)
Semantic Clue (形旁):日 (Indicates weather related to the sun.)
Phonetic Clue (声旁):青 (original sound: qīng)
The sun (日) shines brightly over lush green plants and clear blue skies (青), creating a clear, fine weather day.
日 Sun/weather semantic indicator
青 Qīng phonetic sound clue
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
20· Phonetic Root: 青 (qīng)
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)
Origin: Combined from the sun radical (日) representing daylight and weather, and (青) providing the phonetic reading and a sense of clear blue skies or lush verdant growth.
Semantic Evolution: Originally referring to the clear color of nature, it specialized specifically into meaning clear and cloudless weather.
The phonetic component 青 originally depicted sprouting plants under a well, later expanding to represent shades of blue, green, and clear weather.
6. Sinosphere
🇻🇳
Sino-Vietnamese
tình
Mandarin rising tone 2 corresponds to Vietnamese hỏi or huyền depending on historical derivations, here pronounced as tình.
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: セイ (sei) / Kun: Hare (は.れ)
🇰🇷
Hanja (Korean)
청
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story
When the SUN (日) comes out over the BLUE SKY (青), the weather instantly becomes CLEAR and FINE (qíng).
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
请
qǐngplease, to inviteReplaces the sun radical with the speech radical (讠), meaning polite words spoken.
情
qíngemotion, feelingReplaces the sun radical with the heart radical (忄), meaning matters of the heart and feelings.
睛
jīngeyeballReplaces the sun radical with the eye radical (目), referring to the pupils of the eyes.
Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
请(qǐng)
晴 has the sun (日) for weather; 请 has speech (讠) for polite invitations.
情(qíng)
晴 has the sun (日) for sunny skies; 情 has the heart (忄) for emotions.
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge
今天的天气很好，是[___]天。
Clue: qíng
Common Learner Pitfall
Confusing the tone with Tone 1 (qīng) or mixing up the radicals in the character family (using heart or speech instead of sun).
Memory Prompts
Recognition: What does 晴 mean and how is it pronounced?
Production: How do you write the character for 'clear/fine weather' (qíng)?
Real-World Video Context
Watch authentic native speakers pronounce and explain this word in real-world YouTube videos.
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晴qíngclear, fine (weather)
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