派 (pā) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

派

pā[pa1]Tone 1

faction, clique, school, or loanword prefix

HSK 3

Multiple Readings (多音字):

Guru Deep Dive

English · faction, clique, school, or loanword prefix

Cached lesson

1 / 1

Topology:Left-right

Strokes:9

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (water indicator 氵) should be compact on the left, while the right component (fist/dispatch 𠂤) extends broader to maintain harmonious horizontal balance.

1. Meaning

faction, clique, school of thought

to dispatch, send, assignstyle, mannerpie (transliteration)

Noun / VerbNeutral#sociology#actions#politics

Sample Usage

他们属于不同的流派。
tāmen shǔyú bùtóng de liúpài.
They belong to different schools/factions.
公司派他去北京出差。
gōngsī pài tā qù běijīng chūchāi.
The company dispatched him to Beijing on a business trip.

2. Sound

/[pʰa˥]/Tone: 55

派

pāpa1

¯(55)

=pā

Initial Consonant

Type: Aspirated Bilabial

Sounds like: p sound as in 'pat'

Aspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Strong puff of air! A tissue held before lips MUST fly forward.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Lips pressed together then abruptly released with a burst of breath.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -a vowel group

Sounds like: ah sound as in 'father'

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

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: Maintains a steady, high-pitched monotone, similar to an opera singer holding a single high note.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the high level Tone 1 (pā) with the rising Tone 2 (pá) or falling Tone 4 (pà).

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A high, flat horizon line drawn in the air at eye level, representing a steady, unwavering high note.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 9 strokes

4. Components

Radical 水 · Water Radical (Sandiyu / Left Water) (water, flowing liquid)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 氵 (indicates flowing or branching streams)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 𠂤 (original sound: pài)

Water (氵) branching out into different streams like a mound or division (𠂤) represents 'factions' or 'splitting off' into different schools.

氵 Water / branching streams
𠂤 Mound / to distribute

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

2· Phonetic Root: 派 (pā)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally derived from ideas of water branching into multiple directions, which later generalized to mean dispatching people or dividing into factions.

Semantic Evolution: From branching water streams to dividing tasks (dispatching) and ideological branching (factions/schools of thought).

The phonetic part 𠂤 contributes the sound pài while the water radical provides the conceptual framework of splitting or flowing.

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: ハク

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

派

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

Water (氵) is distributed from a mound (𠂤) into separate irrigation channels, creating different 'factions' (派) of farmers.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

脉

màiveins, pulseUses flesh/moon radical (月) instead of water to mean bodily channels.

湃

pàisurge of waterAdds full water radical (氵) on the left with another water component on the right.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

脉(mài)

脉 uses 月 (flesh/body) for pulse and veins, whereas 派 uses 氵 (water) for flowing factions.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

他们在学术观点上分成了不同的[___]。

Clue: pài

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the left-side water radical with other similar radicals like 氷 or using the wrong tone when saying compound words.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What does the character 派 mean when referring to political groups or art movements?

Production: How do you write the character for 'faction' or 'to dispatch' with 9 strokes?

派pāfaction, clique, school, or loanword prefix

Speed:

Searching YouTube for native pronunciation videos...

0 / 0