桨 (jiǎng) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

桨

jiǎng[jiang3]Tone 3

oar; paddle

HSK 7

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槳

Guru Deep Dive

English · oar; paddle

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:17

Writing Balance Rule: The left side (wood radical 木) takes up about one-third of the width, while the right side (jiāng 将) occupies the remaining two-thirds with a multi-layered structure.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 槳 uses 暎/漿 elements simplified down on the right side to 将.

1. Meaning

oar or paddle used for rowing a boat

propeller (in modern mechanical contexts)

NounNeutral#water transport#tools#sports

Sample Usage

划桨
huá jiǎng
to row; to paddle
船桨
chuán jiǎng
boat oar

2. Sound

/[t͡ɕi̯äŋ²¹⁴]/Tone: 214

桨

jiǎngjiang3

ˇ(214)

=jiǎng

Build the syllable

Step-by-step blending

jiang

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: Unaspirated Alveolo-Palatal

Sounds like: soft j sound like in 'jeep'

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: No air puff. Lips spread wide like smiling.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Front of tongue pressed lightly against the back of the lower teeth, blade raised toward the hard palate.

Final Rhyme

iang

Vowel Group: -a vowel group

Sounds like: rhymes with 'ee-ong' or 'young' with an 'ah' core

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

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 hesitant 'Hmm?' and rises back up in disbelief.

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

👂

Listening trap: Do not confuse with jiāng (1st or 1st-to-2nd tone combos); ensure you hit the dipping and rising contour of the 3rd tone.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Trace a checkmark in the air: dip down sharply from mid-height to low chest level, then sweep upward to a high point.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 17 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left side (wood radical 木) takes up about one-third of the width, while the right side (jiāng 将) occupies the remaining two-thirds with a multi-layered structure.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 槳 uses 暎/漿 elements simplified down on the right side to 将.

4. Components

Radical 木 · Wood Radical (tree, wood, wooden material)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 木 (Indicates that an oar is made of wood.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 将 (original sound: jiāng)

A wooden tool (木) shaped and commanded by the general (将) of the boat to move forward across the water.

木 wood (left side)
将 phonetic clue for sound (right side)

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

8· Phonetic Root: 丬 (qiáng)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Combined the material indicator 'wood' (木) with the phonetic sound 'jiāng' (将) to denote a wooden instrument used for propelling water craft.

Semantic Evolution: Originally referred specifically to wooden rowing oars in ancient river transport, now extended to modern paddles and propellers.

Water transport was central to ancient Chinese commerce, making specialized boating terminology like oars critical.

6. Sinosphere

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

Imagine a wooden (木) general (将) standing at the front of a warship, gripping a massive wooden oar (桨) to steer the fleet through crashing waves.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

丬

qiáng"piece of wood" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 90), mirror image of 片[pian4]Phonetic Core (声旁)

状

zhuàngform, state, condition, description+ 犬 (dog)

奖

jiǎngprize, award, reward, to praise+ 大 (big)

壮

zhuàngstrong, robust, Zhuang ethnic group+ 士 (scholar)

Explore this family →

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

将(jiāng)

将 lacks the wood radical (木) on the left.

酱(jiàng)

酱 has the wine/jar radical (酉) at the bottom instead of wood.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

划船的时候需要用[___]来划水。

Clue: jiǎng

Common Learner Pitfall

Mistaking the right-side phonetic component 将 for an independent character or messing up the complex 17-stroke composition.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see 桨, what does it mean and how do you pronounce it?

Production: How do you write the Chinese character for 'oar/paddle' (jiǎng)?

桨jiǎngoar; paddle

Speed:

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