湧 (yǒng) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

湧

yǒng[yong3]Tone 3

to bubble up, to rush forth

HSK 7

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涌

Guru Deep Dive

English · to bubble up, to rush forth

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:10

Writing Balance Rule: The left water radical (氵) takes up about one-third of the width, leaving two-thirds for the right phonetic component (勇). Keep the right side balanced and compact.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form (湧) and simplified form (涌) share the exact same radical and phonetic structure; the simplified form retains the standard water radical and brave component without altering stroke composition.

1. Meaning

to bubble up, to surge, to gush forth

to well up (of emotions or ideas)to rise or spring forth like water

VerbNeutral#nature#water#emotions#movement

Sample Usage

泪水涌了出来。
lèi shuǐ yǒng le chū lái.
Tears welled up.
泉水从地下涌出。
quán shuǐ cóng dì xià yǒng chū.
Spring water gushes out from underground.

2. Sound

/[jʊŋ²¹⁴]/Tone: 214

湧

yǒngyong3

ˇ(214)

=yǒng

Build the syllable

Step-by-step blending

yong

Tone mark placement: Tone mark sits on "o" per main-vowel priority (a > e > o; in -iu/-ui the mark takes the second vowel).

Initial Consonant

Type: Glide (y)

Sounds like: Glide (y)

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Acts as a bridge into 'i' or 'ü' vowel sounds.

Tongue & Mouth Position: No initial consonant obstruction; tongue starts neutral and glides directly into the vowel rhyme.

Final Rhyme

ong

Vowel Group: -o vowel group

Sounds like: -ong rhymes with rung

Mouth Shape Guide: Combine initial 'h-' (h) with final '-ong' (oong).

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

Tone

T3 (214)

2 → 1 → 4 (214)

3rd Tone (Low-Dipping)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 3 dips down and rises back up, matching the cadence of an English incredulous 'Really?' or 'Huh?'.

Sandhi: When followed by another Tone 3 syllable, yǒng changes to a Tone 2 (rising 35) sound, becoming yóng.

👂

Listening trap: Do not confuse the retroflex or dental initials with this zero-initial vowel starting with a semi-vowel 'y'. Ensure the dipping pitch of Tone 3 is fully executed rather than flattened.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Trace a checkmark in the air: start medium-high, dip down low to your chest, and sweep sharply upward to finish high.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 10 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left water radical (氵) takes up about one-third of the width, leaving two-thirds for the right phonetic component (勇). Keep the right side balanced and compact.

4. Components

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

Semantic Clue (形旁): 氵 (Indicates that the action involves liquids, bubbling, or flowing water.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 勇 (original sound: yǒng)

Water (氵) combines with bravery/courage (勇) to picture a brave, forceful stream of water that rushes and bubbles up with unstoppable courage.

氵 water semantic indicator
勇 yǒng phonetic and meaning contributor of force/bravery

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

2· Phonetic Root: 勈 (yǒng)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Combined from the water sign (氵) to denote liquids and the phonetic/semantic element (勇) representing vigorous energy and force.

Semantic Evolution: Originally referred specifically to bubbling or gushing water springs, later extended metaphorically to describe surging crowds, emotions welling up, or thoughts rushing into one's mind.

In classical Chinese literature, yǒng frequently described turbulent waves or sudden subterranean spring water breaking through the earth.

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: ユウ / Kun: わ.く

Sound Shift Bridge: The Mandarin rhyme '-ong' corresponds to Japanese 'ou' or 'u' readings in historical borrowings.

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

With unstoppable BRAVERY (勇), a gushing torrent of WATER (氵) BUBBLES UP and surges over the dam.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

勈

yǒngold variant of 勇[yong3]Phonetic Core (声旁)

Explore this family →

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

勇(yǒng)

勇 lacks the water radical (氵) and means brave, whereas 涌 has water indicating liquid surging.

通(tōng)

通 uses the walking enclosure radical (辶), dealing with passing through rather than bubbling water.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

看到動人的電影情節，我的眼淚奪眶而[___]。

Clue: yǒng

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the phonetic component 勇 with the whole character 涌 by forgetting to include the water radical (氵) when writing it from memory.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see the water radical combined with bravery (涌), what English action of liquids or feelings does it represent?

Production: How do you write the character for 'to bubble up / rush forth' with Pinyin yǒng?

湧yǒngto bubble up, to rush forth

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