牌 (pái) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

牌

pái[pai2]Tone 2

signboard, brand, playing card

HSK 3

Guru Deep Dive

English · signboard, brand, playing card

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:12

Writing Balance Rule: The left side (片) is narrower and lighter, while the right side (卑) is slightly wider and bears the heavier vertical weight, maintaining a balanced left-right harmony without leaning.

Simplification Logic: Simplified form is identical to the traditional form; no character reduction was applied.

1. Meaning

signboard, tablet, brand or card

trademarkmahjong tile or dominofixed melodic pattern for classical poetry (詞牌)

NounNeutral#objects#commerce#games#literature

Sample Usage

這是一家老牌子。
zhè shì yì jiā lǎo pái zi.
This is an old established brand.
門外掛著一個招牌。
mén wài guà zhe yí gè zhāo pái.
A shop sign is hanging outside the door.

2. Sound

/[pʰaɪ̯³⁵]/Tone: 35

牌

páipai2

´(35)

=pái

Initial Consonant

Type: Aspirated Bilabial

Sounds like: p sound in 'pie'

Aspirated

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

Tongue & Mouth Position: Both lips pressed together tightly to block airflow, then released with a strong puff of air.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -a vowel group

Sounds like: -ai rhymes with the 'y' sound in 'my' or 'pie'

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

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

Tone

T2 (35)

3 → 5 (35)

2nd Tone (Mid-Rising)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 2 rises like a rising question in English ('Really?'), starting mid and ending high.

Sandhi: When followed by another Tone 2, it shifts slightly, though as a standalone word it maintains its rising 35 pitch contour.

👂

Listening trap: Do not confuse it with pài (Tone 4, falling, like 'pie' said angrily downwards). Ensure you ride the elevator up in pitch.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A rising hand sweep moving from chest height upward to eye level, mirroring an inquiring nod or the second half of a question mark.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 12 strokes

Simplification Logic: Simplified form is identical to the traditional form; no character reduction was applied.

4. Components

Radical 片 · Slice radical (flat piece, slice, splinter)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 片 (Indicates a flat, thin piece of material used as a sign or tablet.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 卑 (original sound: bēi / pái phonetic nexus)

A flat slice of wood or material (片) combined with a base structure or servant stand (卑) to hold it upright creates a upright signboard or identification plate (牌).

片 Signifies a flat, thin board or slice
卑 Provides the sound clue and underlying support imagery

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

17· Phonetic Root: 卑 (bēi)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally formed by combining 片 (flat piece of wood) for meaning and 卑 for sound. Ancient tablets and tallies were carved out of flat wood or bamboo slips.

Semantic Evolution: Originally referring to wooden tallies and flat signboards, its meaning broadened over time to encompass commercial brands, identification badges, playing cards, and poetry tune titles.

In ancient China, wooden tablets (牌) were used for official tallies, passes, and military identification.
The use of 牌 for poetry meters (詞牌) arose because tunes were recorded on master signboards in entertainment districts.

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: パイ (pai) / Kun: ふだ (fuda)

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

패

Sound Shift Bridge: The Mandarin initial p- and final -ai correspond cleanly to historical East Asian borrowings such as Japanese 'pai' and Korean 'pae'.

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

Imagine walking into a shop and seeing a flat wooden SLICE (片) mounted on a low STAND (卑) displaying a glowing neon BRAND NAME (牌).

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

脾

píspleenAdd flesh/meat radical (月) on the left for internal body parts.

碑

bēistone tablet, monumentAdd stone radical (石) on the left for giant stone monuments instead of flat wooden signs.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

脾(pí)

脾 has the flesh radical (月) representing body organs, whereas 牌 has the flat slice radical (片) representing signs and boards.

碑(bēi)

碑 uses the stone radical (石) for carved stone steles, whereas 牌 uses the slice radical (片) for general wooden signs or cards.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

这家公司的商[___]在市场上很有名。

Clue: pái zi

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing 牌 (pái) with tone 4 pài, or mixing up the left radical with 石 (stone) which creates 碑 (bēi).

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see 牌, what are three primary English meanings it can convey?

Production: How do you write the character for 'brand / playing card / signboard' (pái) using the slice radical?

牌páisignboard, brand, playing card

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