歉 (qiàn) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

歉

qiàn[qian4]Tone 4

apologize

HSK 6

Guru Deep Dive

English · apologize

Cached lesson

1 / 1

Topology:Left-right

Strokes:13

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (兼) should be compact and slightly narrower to leave enough visual weight for the right component (欠).

1. Meaning

to apologize, to feel regret

deficientshortage

verb / adjectiveNeutralBound morpheme#emotions#social interaction#morality

Sample Usage

我很抱歉。
wǒ hěn bào qiàn.
I am very sorry.
向他道歉。
xiàng tā dào qiàn.
To apologize to him.

2. Sound

/[tɕʰi̯ɛn⁵¹]/Tone: 51

歉

qiànqian4

`(51)

=qiàn

Initial Consonant

Type: Aspirated Alveolo-Palatal

Sounds like: ch sound produced with the tongue blade near the hard palate

Aspirated

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

Tongue & Mouth Position: Blade of tongue approaches hard palate, teeth close together, releasing a sharp jet of air.

Final Rhyme

ian

Vowel Group: -a vowel group

Sounds like: -yen in yen

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

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

Abbreviated Rhyme Rule: The 'i' acts as a front-high glide leading into the nasal vowel 'an'.

Tone

T4 (51)

5 → 1 (51)

4th Tone (High-Falling)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 4 starts high and drops sharply to the bottom, like a definitive 'No!' or a stern expression of fault.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the palatal initial q- [tɕʰ] with the retroflex ch- [tʂʰ] or alveolar c- [tsʰ].

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A sharp downward chop of the hand, mirroring a stern or decisive nod of regret.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 13 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (兼) should be compact and slightly narrower to leave enough visual weight for the right component (欠).

4. Components

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

Semantic Clue (形旁): 欠 (indicates deficiency, regret, or a heavy sigh of owing an apology)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 兼 (original sound: jiān / qiàn)

Composed of the phonetic component 兼 (concurrently/double) on the left and 欠 (lack/owe) on the right, signifying an emotional lack or a doubled debt of fault that demands an apology.

兼 Provides the phonetic sound and suggests a multiplicity or overlapping burden
欠 Provides the semantic cue of a deficiency, debt, or sigh

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

12· Phonetic Root: 兼 (jiān)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Combined from 兼 (standing for concurrent burdens or a full workload) and 欠 (a person exhaling or lacking), originally conveying the sense of a shortfall, deficiency, or owing someone due to failure.

Semantic Evolution: Shifted from a physical deficiency or owing something tangible to the moral and emotional act of feeling deficient in duty, hence 'apologizing' and 'regretting'.

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

6. Sinosphere

🇻🇳

Sino-Vietnamese

khiếm

The rising tone in Vietnamese corresponds somewhat to Mandarin's dynamic contours, but here carries the meaning of lacking or deficient.

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: ケン / Kun: つ-かる / おと-る

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

겸

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

You carry a **double** load of work (**兼**) and feel a **lack** or debt (**欠**) toward your friend, so you must bow down and **apologize** (**qiàn**).

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

兼

jiānsimultaneously, concurrentWithout the欠 component, it means concurrent or double.

廉

liánhonest, inexpensiveReplaces the right side with 广 (shelter), meaning upright character under a roof.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

qian(qián)

Check the tone and meaning: 钱 means money, 前 means front, while 歉 means apology/regret.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

对于这次的失误，我向大家表示深深的[___]。

Clue: qiàn

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the right-side component 欠 (lack) with other similar right-hand elements, or misapplying Tone 4 so that it sounds like a rising tone (qiǎn).

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see 歉 with Tone 4 [qiàn], what core action or feeling does it immediately convey?

Production: How do you write the character for 'apologize' (qiàn) using the components for 'concurrent' and 'lack'?

歉qiànapologize

Speed:

Searching YouTube for native pronunciation videos...

0 / 0