测 (cè) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

测

cè[ce4]Tone 4

to measure, to survey, to conjecture

HSK 4

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測

Guru Deep Dive

English · to measure, to survey, to conjecture

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:9

Writing Balance Rule: The left water radical (氵) takes up about one-third of the width, while the right phonetic component (则) occupies the remaining two-thirds, keeping both sides visually balanced without crowding.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form (測) uses water (水) on the left and則 on the right. Simplified keeps the standard 氵 water radical and uses the simplified form of the right component.

1. Meaning

to measure or survey

to gaugeto conjectureto estimate

VerbNeutral#science#measurement#thought#action

Sample Usage

测验
cèyàn
test, exam
预测
yùcè
to predict, forecast

2. Sound

/[tsʰɤ⁵¹]/Tone: 51

测

cèce4

`(51)

=cè

Initial Consonant

Type: Aspirated Dental Sibilant

Sounds like: ts as in 'cats'

Aspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Sharp burst of air through teeth! Tissue MUST flutter strongly.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip placed against back of lower teeth, releasing a burst of air

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -e vowel group

Sounds like: uh sound as in 'duh'

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

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

Tone

T4 (51)

5 → 1 (51)

4th Tone (High-Falling)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 4 starts high and drops sharply to the bottom, just like shouting a firm 'No!' in English.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the unaspirated 'z' [ts] and strongly aspirated 'c' [tsʰ]. Make sure there is a distinct puff of air.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A sharp downward chop with your hand, mirroring the high-to-low pitch drop of Tone 4.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 9 strokes

4. Components

Radical 氵 · Water Radical (water, liquid, fluidity)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 氵 (Indicates actions originally related to water, surveying depths, or measuring liquids.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 则 (original sound: zé)

Water (氵) meets rules/standards (则): to measure water levels according to a standard scale.

氵 water / liquid
则 standard / rule (phonetic/semantic clue)

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

6· Phonetic Root: 则 (zé)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally combined water (水) with a phonetic and conceptual element relating to a standard or criterion (则), originally signifying measuring the depth of water.

Semantic Evolution: From physically measuring water depth to general surveying, testing, and making conjectures or estimates about abstract things.

Water depth measurements were crucial for ancient river engineering and agriculture, making water-related measurement terms fundamental.

6. Sinosphere

🇻🇳

Sino-Vietnamese

trắc

Similar falling tone dynamic in Sino-Vietnamese reading.

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: ソク (soku) / Kun: はか.る (haka.ru)

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

측

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

You use WATER (氵) and strict RULES/STANDARDS (则) to MEASURE (测) the river's depth.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

则

zéstandard, ruleBase phonetic component without water radical.

测

cèto measureAdds water radical (氵) to indicate measuring depth.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

侧(cè)

Has the person radical (亻) instead of water (氵), meaning side.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

老师明天要给我们一次数学[___]。

Clue: cè yàn

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing it with 侧 (cè - side) because they sound identical and share the same phonetic right side.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see 测, what is its primary meaning and Pinyin?

Production: How do you write the character for 'to measure' (cè) using water and standard components?

测cèto measure, to survey, to conjecture

Speed:

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