HanziGuru.狽 · bèi
狽
bèi[bei4]Tone 4

a legendary wolf / distressed / wretched

HSK 7
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狈
Guru Deep Dive

English · a legendary wolf / distressed / wretched

Cached lesson
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Topology:Left-right
Strokes:10
Writing Balance Rule: The left side (the dog radical) must be compressed slightly to make room for the right phonetic component 贝, keeping both halves visually balanced within an imaginary square grid.
Simplification Logic: Simplified from the traditional 狽 by replacing the complex phonetic right-hand side with 贝 (bèi, shell), streamlining the character.
1. Meaning

a legendary wolf with short hind legs, often paired with the mythical fox-like 狼 (láng) to symbolize being in a predicament or distressed

distressedwretchedhelplessly trapped
noun / adjectiveLiteraryBound morpheme#animals#mythology#emotions and states
Sample Usage
  • 狼狈
    lángbèi
    in a difficult situation, scuttled, disheveled, embarrassed
  • 狼狈不堪
    láng bèi bù kān
    in utter distress, thoroughly wretched
2. Sound
/[peɪ̯⁵¹]/Tone: 51
狽
bèibei4
++
`(51)
=bèi
Build the syllable
Step-by-step blending
bei
Tone mark placement: Tone mark sits on "e" per main-vowel priority (a > e > o; in -iu/-ui the mark takes the second vowel).
Initial Consonant
b
Type: Unaspirated Bilabial
Sounds like: b sound in bat
Unaspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: No burst of air. A tissue in front of lips should stay still.
Tongue & Mouth Position: Both lips press together lightly and release with a gentle plosive puff of air.
Final Rhyme
ei
Vowel Group: -e vowel group
Sounds like: ei rhymes with grey
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'ay'.
Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.
Tone
T4 (51)
4th Tone (High-Falling)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 4 starts high and drops abruptly like an emphatic 'No!' or a sharp command.
👂
Listening trap: Confusing it with Tone 1 (bēi) or Tone 2 (béi), ensure the pitch drops sharply from high to low without rising.
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: A decisive karate chop downward, matching the sharp falling pitch of Tone 4.
3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 10 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left side (the dog radical) must be compressed slightly to make room for the right phonetic component 贝, keeping both halves visually balanced within an imaginary square grid.

Simplification Logic: Simplified from the traditional 狽 by replacing the complex phonetic right-hand side with 贝 (bèi, shell), streamlining the character.

4. Components

Radical 犭 · Dog Radical (Animals, beasts, canine nature)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 犭 (Indicates that this character refers to a beast or animal (the legendary wolf).)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 贝 (original sound: bèi)

A fierce canine beast (犭) carrying the sound/value of shells or wealth (贝), combining to form the legendary wolf with short hind legs.

  • 犭 Dog radical, signaling a canine beast
  • 贝 Phonetic indicator providing the sound 'bèi'
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally combined the dog classifier (犭) with a phonetic element to represent a mythical creature described as having short hind legs, which always had to ride on the back of the wolf (狼) to move forward.

Semantic Evolution: Because the creature was dependent on the wolf and struggled to move on its own, the compound 狼狈 (lángbèi) evolved to mean being in a helpless, distressed, or awkward predicament.

  • In Chinese folklore, 狼 (láng) and 狈 (bèi) are inseparable companions representing conspirators in distress.
6. Sinosphere
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: ハイ
🇰🇷
Hanja (Korean)
패
Sound Shift Bridge: Shared East Asian literary vocabulary root for distress and defeat.
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story

Imagine a strange dog-beast (犭) that lost all its valuable shells (贝) and is now running around in absolute distress and panic.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
貝
Phonetic Core (声旁)
唄
+ 口 (mouth)
敗
+ 攵 (strike)
賁
+ 卉 (myriads)
Explore this family →
Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
贝(bèi)
贝 means shell and lacks the dog radical 犭 found on the left of 狈.
败(bài)
败 has the beating/action radical on the left instead of the animal radical 犭.
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge
他們這次行動失敗後，顯得十分[___]。
Clue: bèi
Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing 狈 with common characters like 贝 or 败, and forgetting that 狈 is almost exclusively used today in the compound word 狼狈.

Memory Prompts
Recognition: When you see the animal radical 犭 paired with 贝, what is the pinyin and primary literary meaning?
Production: How do you write the character for the legendary distressed wolf 'bèi'?
Real-World Video Context

Watch authentic native speakers pronounce and explain this word in real-world YouTube videos.

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