櫃 (guì) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

櫃

guì[gui4]Tone 4

cupboard

HSK 5

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柜

Guru Deep Dive

English · cupboard

Cached lesson

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:18

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (木) takes up about one-third of the width, leaving the right component (匭/癸 variant) two-thirds of the space, keeping both sides vertically balanced.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 櫃 uses 匷/匱 on the right, which was simplified to 巨 inside the box shape in the modern simplified character 柜.

1. Meaning

cupboard, cabinet, wardrobe

counter (e.g., in a store or bank)chest

NounNeutral#furniture#containers#household objects

Sample Usage

衣服在衣柜里。
Yīfú zài yīguì lǐ.
The clothes are in the wardrobe.
请把书放在书柜上。
Qǐng bǎ shū fàng zài shūguì shàng.
Please put the books on the bookcase.

2. Sound

/[kweɪ̯⁵¹]/Tone: 51

櫃

guìgui4

`(51)

=guì

Initial Consonant

Type: Unaspirated Velar

Sounds like: hard g sound as in 'go'

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: No burst of air (sounds like 'c' in Vietnamese 'cá' or 'k' in English 'skate').

Tongue & Mouth Position: Back of the tongue raises to touch the soft palate.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -i vowel group

Sounds like: rhymes roughly with the end of 'way' or 'gway'

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

Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.

Abbreviated Rhyme Rule: ui is short for uei

Tone

T4 (51)

5 → 1 (51)

4th Tone (High-Falling)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 4 starts high and plunges straight down like a sharp command or an emphatic 'No!'

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the vowel glide '-ui' (which is pronounced like '-uei') with an '-uai' sound.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A sharp, forceful downward hand chop from high to low, representing a definitive drop in pitch.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 18 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (木) takes up about one-third of the width, leaving the right component (匭/癸 variant) two-thirds of the space, keeping both sides vertically balanced.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 櫃 uses 匷/匱 on the right, which was simplified to 巨 inside the box shape in the modern simplified character 柜.

4. Components

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

Semantic Clue (形旁): 木 (indicates that the cabinet or cupboard is made of wood)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 匦 (original sound: guì)

A wooden structure (木) built into a box or chest shape (similar to 匭) to store items securely.

木 wood / wooden category
巨 phonetic and structural component in simplified form

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

7· Phonetic Root: 貴 ()

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally formed by combining the wood classifier (木) to denote wooden furniture containers with a phonetic sound element indicating the 'gui' pronunciation.

Semantic Evolution: Originally referred to wooden chests and boxes for storage, expanding over time to modern wardrobes, cupboards, cabinets, and store counters.

In ancient times, wooden chests were essential household items for storing valuable scrolls, clothes, and ritual items.

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: キ / Kun: ひつ

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

궤

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

You go to a wooden (木) giant (巨) wooden storage cabinet to hide your treasures.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

柜

guìcabinetStandard wooden cabinet

拒

jùto resistUses hand radical (扌) instead of wood

矩

jǔcarpenter's squareUses box/hide radical (矢)

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

拒(jù)

拒 has the hand radical (扌) for pushing/resisting; 柜 has the wood radical (木) for wooden furniture.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

我的衣服都掛在衣[___]裡。

Clue: guì

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the tone (Tone 4 guì vs Tone 3 guǐ) or miswriting the right-hand side component with unrelated characters like 拒.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What does the character 柜 mean and how is it pronounced with tone?

Production: How do you write the character for 'cupboard/cabinet' (guì)?

櫃guìcupboard

Speed:

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