汪 (wāng) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

汪

wāng[wang1]Tone 1

expanse of water / bark

HSK 7

Guru Deep Dive

English · expanse of water / bark

Cached lesson

1 / 1

Topology:Left-right

Strokes:7

Writing Balance Rule: The left water radical (氵) should occupy about one-third of the width, leaving the right component (王) ample breathing room and a stable bottom horizontal stroke.

1. Meaning

expanse of water

oozesurname Wangbark (onomatopoeia)classifier for liquids such as pools or puddles

Noun / Classifier / Interjection / SurnameNeutral#nature#water#sounds#surnames

Sample Usage

水汪汪
shuǐ wāng wāng
watery, glistening (eyes)
一汪水
yī wāng shuǐ
a pool of water

2. Sound

/[wɑŋ⁵⁵]/Tone: 55

汪

wāngwang1

¯(55)

=wāng

Build the syllable

Step-by-step blending

wang

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: Glide (w)

Sounds like: English 'w' sound

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Round lips tightly before gliding into vowel.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Lips rounded and protruded slightly, back of tongue raised towards soft palate.

Final Rhyme

ang

Vowel Group: -a vowel group

Sounds like: -ang rhymes with 'ahng' (father + ng)

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

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 flat and sustained high like a musical note sung steadily without wavering.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the open nasal vowel '-ang' with the closed nasal vowel '-ang/-ong'. Ensure the jaw drops comfortably for 'a'.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A level, unwavering high horizontal line in front of you, like a flat calm surface of water.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 7 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left water radical (氵) should occupy about one-third of the width, leaving the right component (王) ample breathing room and a stable bottom horizontal stroke.

4. Components

Radical 氵 · Water Radical (water, liquids, fluids)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 氵 (Indicates water, pools, and liquids.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 王 (original sound: wang)

A vast expanse of water (氵) ruled like a king (王) over the liquid domain.

氵 water indicator on the left
王 phonetic and meaning hint of a ruler or expanse on the right

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

7· Phonetic Root: 王 (wáng)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Combined from the water sign (氵) to denote liquid and the sound/shape of a king or great expanse (王) to represent a deep, wide pool of water.

Semantic Evolution: Originally meaning a deep pool or expanse of water, it expanded to describe glistening eyes, puddles, dog barks as an onomatopoeia, and as a common Chinese surname.

The character is frequently duplicated as 'wāng wāng' to mimic the sound of a dog barking or to describe tearful, glistening eyes.

6. Sinosphere

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

The KING (王) of the ocean stands by the WATER (氵) making a deep pool where dogs bark (wāng wāng) at the waves.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

王

wángKing, monarch, or surname WangPhonetic Core (声旁)

往

wǎngold variant of 往[wang3]+ 彳 (stepping)

狂

kuángmad+ 犭 (dog)

旺

wàngprosperous+ 日 (sun)

Explore this family →

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

王(wáng)

王 is just 'king' without any water radical on the left.

往(wǎng)

往 uses the step radical (彳) on the left instead of water (氵).

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

小狗汪汪叫，院子里有一[___]水。

Clue: wāng

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the right side '王' with similar components or forgetting to include the three-dot water radical (氵) on the left.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What does 汪 mean when it appears with water and what sound does it make?

Production: How do you write the character for an expanse of water or pool (wāng) with 7 strokes?

汪wāngexpanse of water / bark

Speed:

Searching YouTube for native pronunciation videos...

0 / 0