決 (jué) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

決

jué[jue2]Tone 2

to decide

HSK 3

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决

Guru Deep Dive

English · to decide

Cached lesson

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:6

Writing Balance Rule: The left water radical (氵) takes up about one-third of the width, leaving two-thirds for the right component (夬), keeping both sides visually balanced.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 決 and simplified form 决 share the same structure; 决 standardizes the right component's strokes slightly for faster handwriting.

1. Meaning

to decide or determine

to execute a condemned criminalto breach or burst (of a dam or river)definitely or certainly

VerbNeutral#decision#action#disaster#justice

Sample Usage

我们已经决定了。
Wǒmen yǐjīng juédìng le.
We have already decided.
决不妥协。
Jué bù tuǒxié.
Definitely will not compromise.

2. Sound

/[t͡ɕy̯ɛ³⁵]/Tone: 35

決

juéjue2

´(35)

=jué

Initial Consonant

Type: Unaspirated Alveolo-Palatal

Sounds like: j sound as in jeep

Unaspirated

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

Tongue & Mouth Position: Blade of the tongue touches the hard palate, unrounded lips, no burst of air.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -e vowel group

Sounds like: ü-eh rhyme

Note: Written as 'ue', pronounced as rounded 'üe' [y].

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

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

Abbreviated Rhyme Rule: The ü slides directly into e.

Tone

T2 (35)

3 → 5 (35)

2nd Tone (Mid-Rising)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 2 rises like a surprised question in English: 'What?' or 'Really?'

Sandhi: When followed by another Tone 2 syllable, it shifts to a high rising contour.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the rounded vowel üe with unrounded ie, or mishearing Tone 2 (rising) as Tone 4 (falling).

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A physical upward flick of the hand or chin, matching the rising pitch from bottom to top.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 6 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left water radical (氵) takes up about one-third of the width, leaving two-thirds for the right component (夬), keeping both sides visually balanced.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 決 and simplified form 决 share the same structure; 决 standardizes the right component's strokes slightly for faster handwriting.

4. Components

Radical 氵 · Water Radical (water or liquid)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 氵 (indicates flowing liquid, as in breaching a dam)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 夬 (original sound: jué)

Water (氵) crashes against a barrier (夬), causing the dam to burst and water to flow away decisively.

氵 Water
夬 Opening or parting

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

2· Phonetic Root: 氵 (shuǐ)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally depicted water breaching a bank or opening a channel to let water flow out, representing a decisive break.

Semantic Evolution: From the physical act of a river bursting its banks to making a sharp, definitive decision or clearing a doubt.

In ancient times, opening a dike to flood an enemy was a major tactical decision, linking water release with decisive action.

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: ケツ (ketsu) / Kun: き.める (ki.meru)

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

결

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

Imagine rushing water (氵) hitting a checkpoint gate (夬) and making a sharp, final DECISION to burst through the dam at all costs!

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

快

kuàifast, happyUses heart radical (忄) instead of water (氵) to show emotional state or speed.

诀

juéfarewell, secret formulaUses speech radical (讠) for parting words or secret tips.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

快(kuài)

快 has the heart radical (忄) meaning happy/fast, while 决 has water (氵) meaning deciding/breaching.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

我們必須馬上做出一個[___]。

Clue: jué dìng

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the pinyin spelling jue with jue without umlaut dots, or miswriting the right component 夬.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What does 决 mean when combined with 定 (juédìng)?

Production: How do you write the character for 'to decide' with a water radical on the left?

決juéto decide

Speed:

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