欺 (qī) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

欺

qī[qi1]Tone 1

to deceive / to cheat / to bully

HSK 6

Guru Deep Dive

English · to deceive / to cheat / to bully

Cached lesson

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:12

Writing Balance Rule: Keep the left component (qí) compact and give the right component (欠) enough horizontal breathing room to balance the overall width.

1. Meaning

to deceive or cheat

to take unfair advantage ofto bully

VerbNeutral#human interaction#deception#behavior

Sample Usage

不要欺负新来的同学。
bù yào qī fù xīn lái de tóng xué.
Do not bully the newly arrived classmate.
欺骗消费者是违法的。
qī piàn xiāo fèi zhě shì wéi fǎ de.
Deceiving consumers is illegal.

2. Sound

/[t͡ɕʰi⁵⁵]/Tone: 55

欺

qīqi1

¯(55)

=qī

Initial Consonant

Type: Aspirated Alveolo-Palatal

Sounds like: ch sound produced with the tongue flat near the palate

Aspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Extremely strong burst of breath! Tissue held before mouth MUST fly.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Blade of the tongue close to the hard palate, releasing a sharp puff of air

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -i vowel group

Sounds like: ee sound as in 'see'

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

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

Tone

T1 (55)

5 → 5 (55)

1st Tone (High-Flat)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 1 is a high, steady pitch, similar to the flat, sustained tone of a musical note sung at the top of your vocal range.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the aspirated 'q' sound with the unaspirated 'j' sound (ji vs qi). Remember that 'q' demands a forceful burst of breath.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Keep your hand flat and steady high in the air, matching the high level pitch of Tone 1.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 12 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: Keep the left component (qí) compact and give the right component (欠) enough horizontal breathing room to balance the overall width.

4. Components

Radical 欠 · Lack / Yawn Radical (deficiency, lacking, breathing out)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 欠 (indicates mouth action, breathing, or negative intent)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 其 (original sound: qí)

The character combines 其 (qí, phonetic clue) on the left with 欠 (qiàn, semantic clue representing breath or mouth actions) on the right, forming an image of deceitful breath or words.

其 Provides the phonetic sound 'qí'
欠 Provides the semantic sense related to mouth, breath, or inadequacy

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

17· Phonetic Root: 其 (qí)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally formed by combining the phonetic element 其 and the semantic element 欠, representing the act of breathing heavily or misleadingly over someone.

Semantic Evolution: Over time, the meaning broadened from deceptive breath or posturing to general acts of cheating, taking advantage of, and bullying.

The component 欠 originally depicted a person opening their mouth wide to exhale or yawn.

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: キ (ki) / Kun: あざむく (azamuku)

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

When you are unsure of **its** (其) true nature, someone might use their breath (**欠**) to **cheat** and **deceive** you.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

期

qīperiod of timeReplaces the right component with the sun/moon radical 日 (time/day).

棋

qíchess / board gameAdds the tree/wood radical 木 on the left for wooden chess pieces.

旗

qíflagAdds the banner/cloth radical ⺥ on the left.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

期(qī)

期 uses 日 (sun/day) on the right indicating time cycles, while 欺 uses 欠 (mouth/breath) indicating deception.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

我们不能[___]弱小的人。

Clue: qī fù

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the phonetic family member 期 (qī, time) with 欺 (qī, to cheat) due to their identical pronunciation and shared left-hand component.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What does the character 欺 mean, and what are its main components?

Production: How do you write the character for 'to deceive' (qī) using 其 and 欠?

欺qīto deceive / to cheat / to bully

Speed:

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