状 (zhuàng) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

状

zhuàng[zhuang4]Tone 4

form, state, condition, description

HSK 3

View Traditional FormSwitch to Traditional

狀

Guru Deep Dive

English · form, state, condition, description

Cached lesson

1 / 1

Topology:Left-right

Strokes:7

Writing Balance Rule: Keep the left dog-radical (犭) compact and slightly higher, while the right phonetic component (状) extends downward with a long sweeping vertical or falling stroke.

Simplification Logic: Simplified from 狀 by replacing the traditional right-side phonetic component or streamlining elements according to standard script simplification rules.

1. Meaning

form, appearance, shape, or state

to describe or portraywritten complaint, legal accusation, or lawsuitaward certificate or diploma

Noun / VerbNeutral / FormalBound morpheme#appearance#legal#documents#states

Sample Usage

现状
xiànzhuàng
current situation / status quo
状元
zhuàngyuán
top scorer in the imperial examination

2. Sound

/[tʂʊ̯äŋ⁵¹]/Tone: 51

状

zhuàngzhuang4

`(51)

=zhuàng

Initial Consonant

Type: Unaspirated Retroflex

Sounds like: j/dr retroflex sound

UnaspiratedRetroflex

Airflow Tactile Test: No burst of air. Tongue curled up. Tissue stays still.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip curled back near hard palate

Final Rhyme

uang

Vowel Group: -a vowel group

Sounds like: uang rhymes with 'wong' or 'ong' with an 'ah' core glide

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

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 plunges sharply downward, identical to an emphatic English command like 'STOP!' or 'NO!'

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the retroflex initial 'zh-' with the alveolar-palatal 'j-' (saying 'juàng' instead of 'zhuàng').

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A sharp, decisive karate chop downward, representing the dropping pitch of Tone 4.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 7 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: Keep the left dog-radical (犭) compact and slightly higher, while the right phonetic component (状) extends downward with a long sweeping vertical or falling stroke.

Simplification Logic: Simplified from 狀 by replacing the traditional right-side phonetic component or streamlining elements according to standard script simplification rules.

4. Components

Radical 犬 · Dog radical (or simplified form 犭) (Animals, beasts, fierce or physical characteristics)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 犭 (Indicates wild or raw physical form, shape, or appearance originating from animal traits)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 爿 (original sound: qiáng / zhuàng)

The dog radical (犭) stands beside a split piece of wood (爿), depicting how an animal's physical shape or a log's cut form is clearly displayed.

犭 Dog radical representing shape or creature context
爿 Phonetic and structural component meaning split wood or bed

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

8· Phonetic Root: 丬 (qiáng)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally combined the dog radical (犭) with a phonetic element (爿) denoting a bed or wooden board. Over time, it generalized to mean outward shape, state of affairs, and written petitions submitted on wooden boards.

Semantic Evolution: From physical shape and appearance to conditions of state, eventually encompassing legal complaints and formal certificates.

In ancient legal systems, citizens submitted written complaints (状) on wooden tablets, which gave rise to the legal sense of the word.

6. Sinosphere

🇻🇳

Sino-Vietnamese

trạng

Corresponds to the Vietnamese nặng tone in southern/standard variants.

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: ジョウ

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

상

Sound Shift Bridge: The retroflex 'zh-' in Mandarin often corresponds to modern and historical dental/palatal stops across other linguistic systems.

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

A wild dog (犭) stands on a split wooden board (爿), striking a magnificent FORM and posing for its award CERTIFICATE.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

壮

zhuàngrobust, strongUses the soldier/man variant on the left instead of the dog radical, meaning strong physical health.

妆

zhuāngmakeup, adornmentUses the female radical (女) on the left, referring to cosmetics and dressing up.

床

chuángbedUses the shelter radical (广) on top, referring to a piece of furniture to sleep on.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

壮(zhuàng)

壮 means strong and has the soldier/man radical (士), whereas 狀/状 refers to form and state with the dog/animal radical (犭).

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

我们要改变目前的[___]。

Clue: xiàn zhuàng

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the traditional character 狀 with its simplified form 状, or mispronouncing the Tone 4 falling pitch as a rising Tone 2.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see 状, what sound, tone, and primary meanings of 'form/state' come to mind?

Production: How do you write the character for 'form or state' (zhuàng) combining the animal radical and phonetic part?

状zhuàngform, state, condition, description

Speed:

Searching YouTube for native pronunciation videos...

0 / 0