Writing Balance Rule: The left side (矛) and right side (木) must balance evenly; keep the vertical hook of 矛 sharp and let the wooden trunk of 木 anchor the right half.
1. Meaning
soft, flexible, supple
yieldinggentlerho (Greek letter Ρ ρ)
AdjectiveNeutral#texture#qualities#physics
Sample Usage
柔和的光线
róu hé de guāng xiàn
soft lighting
柔韧性
róu rèn xìng
flexibility, suppleness
2. Sound
/[ʐoʊ̯³⁵]/Tone: 35
柔
róurou2
|
++
´(35)
=róu
Build the syllable
Step-by-step blending
rou
Tone mark placement: Tone mark sits on "o" per main-vowel priority (a > e > o; in -iu/-ui the mark takes the second vowel).
Airflow Tactile Test: Voiced vibration in throat with curled tongue.
Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip curled back near hard palate, voicing as air passes through.
Final Rhyme
ou
Vowel Group: -o vowel group
Sounds like: -ou rhymes with oh/toe diphthong
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'oh'.
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 rises like asking 'What?' in English disbelief.
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Listening trap: Mistaking the retroflex initial 'r-' for an English 'r' lip-rounding sound or confusing '-ou' with '-ao'.
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Physical Tone Gesture: Tone 2 rises like a question mark or a nod looking upward, starting from a middle pitch and shooting up to the top.
3. Writing
Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 9 strokes
Writing Balance Rule: The left side (矛) and right side (木) must balance evenly; keep the vertical hook of 矛 sharp and let the wooden trunk of 木 anchor the right half.
4. Components
Radical木 · Wood Radical (wood, tree)
Semantic Clue (形旁):木 (indicates plant material or timber that can be bent or worked.)
A spear (矛) made of wood (木) that is surprisingly flexible and soft rather than stiff and rigid.
矛 spear / phonetic and graphic element
木 tree / wood / material semantic anchor
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
4· Phonetic Root: 柔 (róu)
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)
Origin: Originally combined wood (木) with a phonetic element indicating bending or supple branches, later stylized into a spear shape paired with wood.
Semantic Evolution: From flexible tree branches bending under wind to general softness, flexibility, and gentleness in character or material.
Used in martial arts terminology to describe internal systems (柔术 - jujitsu/soft arts).
6. Sinosphere
🇻🇳
Sino-Vietnamese
nhu
Mandarin rising tone 2 corresponds to Vietnamese hỏi or sắc depending on historical register.