Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (water) is slender and compact, leaving the right side (衣 component variant) wider and balanced with sweeping horizontal and vertical strokes.
Simplification Logic: The traditional form 滾 contains the water radical on the left and 袞 on the right. Simplified keeps the standard water radical 氵 on the left and simplifies the phonetic component on the right.
1. Meaning
to roll or to boil
to take a hike / get lost (slang dismissive command)
VerbNeutral to Colloquial/Slang#motion#cooking#emotions
Sample Usage
水滚了。
shuǐ gǔn le.
The water is boiling.
滚开！
gǔn kāi!
Get away! / Fuck off!
2. Sound
/[kun²¹⁴]/Tone: 214
滾
gǔngun3
|
++
ˇ(214)
=gǔn
Initial Consonant
g
Type: Unaspirated Velar
Sounds like: hard g sound like in 'go'
Unaspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: No burst of air (sounds like 'c' in Vietnamese 'cá' or 'k' in English 'skate').
Tongue & Mouth Position: Back of the tongue raises against the soft palate.
Final Rhyme
un
Vowel Group: -u vowel group
Sounds like: -oon sound as in 'moon'
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'wuhn'.
Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.
Abbreviated Rhyme Rule: Derived from the full final -uen where the middle 'e' is elided.
Tone
T3 (214)
2 → 1 → 4 (214)
3rd Tone (Low-Dipping)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 3 dips low like a skeptical 'Really?' before bouncing back up.
Sandhi: When followed by another 3rd tone syllable, gǔn changes to a 2nd tone (gún), e.g., gúnshuǐ (boiling water).
👂
Listening trap: Do not confuse with gùn (4th tone, rod/stick) or gūn (1st tone). Ensure you execute the complete dipping contour of Tone 3.
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: Trace a checkmark in the air: dip down sharply from mid-pitch to low chest voice, then sweep upward.
3. Writing
Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 13 strokes
Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (water) is slender and compact, leaving the right side (衣 component variant) wider and balanced with sweeping horizontal and vertical strokes.
Simplification Logic: The traditional form 滾 contains the water radical on the left and 袞 on the right. Simplified keeps the standard water radical 氵 on the left and simplifies the phonetic component on the right.
4. Components
Radical氵 · Water Radical (Water, liquids, fluids)
Semantic Clue (形旁):氵 (Indicates liquids, bubbling, or boiling action)
Phonetic Clue (声旁):袞 (original sound: gǔn)
Water (氵) plus a garment/folding component (袞) gives the idea of water rolling around like swirling fabric in a washing tub.
氵 Water / liquid semantic clue
亢 Phonetic and structural anchor part
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
2· Phonetic Root: 袞 ()
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)
Origin: Combined from the water sign (氵) to represent flowing, turbulent liquid, and a phonetic indicator giving the sound gǔn.
Semantic Evolution: Originally referred to water rolling, churning, or boiling vigorously. Extended over time to describe anything rolling, and eventually into a harsh slang command to tell someone to get away ('roll away').
The slang usage '滚' (gǔn) is extremely common in modern Chinese media as an equivalent to 'Get lost' or 'Scram'.
6. Sinosphere
🇻🇳
Sino-Vietnamese
côn
Mandarin tone 3 corresponds roughly to a dipping/creaky tone adaptation in Vietnamese lexical borrowings.
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: コン (kon) / Kun: ころが.る (korogaru)
🇰🇷
Hanja (Korean)
곤
Sound Shift Bridge: The initial 'g-' in Mandarin often corresponds to k/c sounds in Sino-Xenic readings (e.g., gǔn to côn / kon).
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story
Water (氵) is boiling so hard in the pot that it forms huge round bubbles and GOONS (gǔn) start rolling around violently, until someone yells 'Get lost!'
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
棍
gùnstick, rodUses tree/wood radical (木) instead of water (氵).
混
hùnto mix, to muddle alongUses water radical (氵) with a sun/day component (日).
Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
棍(gùn)
棍 uses 木 (wood) because it refers to a wooden stick or club, whereas 滚 uses 氵 (water) because it refers to boiling water or rolling motion.
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge
氣得他對我喊：“快[___]開！”
Clue: gǔn
Common Learner Pitfall
Confusing 滚 (gǔn - to boil/roll) with 混 (hùn - to mix), or forgetting the 3rd tone sandhi change when it precedes another 3rd tone.
Memory Prompts
Recognition: When you see 滚 with water (氵) and a rolling meaning, what is its Pinyin and primary translation?
Production: How do you write the character for 'to boil' or 'get lost' (gǔn) from memory?
Real-World Video Context
Watch authentic native speakers pronounce and explain this word in real-world YouTube videos.
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滾gǔnto boil, to roll, get lost
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