HanziGuru.猜 · cāi
猜
cāi[cai1]Tone 1

to guess

HSK 5
Guru Deep Dive

English · to guess

Cached lesson
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Topology:Left-right
Strokes:11
Writing Balance Rule: The left component (犭) is narrow and compressed, leaving ample space for the right component (青) which provides the structural weight.
1. Meaning

to guess

to suspectto conjecture
VerbNeutral#cognitive#communication#mental action
Sample Usage
  • 你猜我带了什么礼物？
    nǐ cāi wǒ dài le shénme lǐwù?
    Guess what gift I brought?
  • 这只是我的猜测。
    zhè zhǐ shì wǒ de cāicè.
    This is only my guess/conjecture.
2. Sound
/[tsʰaɪ̯⁵⁵]/Tone: 55
猜
cāicai1
++
¯(55)
=cāi
Initial Consonant
c
Type: Aspirated Dental Sibilant
Sounds like: ts- sound like the 'ts' in 'cats'
Aspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: Sharp burst of air through teeth! Tissue MUST flutter strongly.
Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip touches behind lower front teeth, releasing a burst of air.
Final Rhyme
ai
Vowel Group: -a vowel group
Sounds like: -ai rhymes with the word 'eye'
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'eye'.
Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.
Tone
T1 (55)
1st Tone (High-Flat)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 1 is a high, flat pitch (55), matching the level tone of voice when calling out a sustained musical note.
👂
Listening trap: Confusing the initial 'c' (tsʰ, strongly aspirated) with 'z' (ts, unaspirated).
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: Tone 1 is a high, steady flat line, like a singer holding a high note at a constant pitch without wavering.
3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 11 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left component (犭) is narrow and compressed, leaving ample space for the right component (青) which provides the structural weight.

4. Components

Radical 犭 · Dog Radical (animal, beast, canine nature)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 犭 (indicates animal behavior or primal instincts like sniffing out a secret)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 青 (original sound: qīng)

A hunting dog (犭) with clear vision (青) sniffs around to guess where the hidden prey is.

  • 犭 Dog radical (animal/behavior)
  • 青 Phonetic and visual clue (blue/green/clear)
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Combined from the animal signifier (犭) and the phonetic sound component (青), originally capturing the phonetic value while grounding the cognitive action in animal-like alertness or tracking.

Semantic Evolution: Shifted from tracking/animal intuition to general human mental deduction and guessing.

  • The phonetic component 青 provides the 'cai' sound via historical shifting from an ancient *ts- rhyme series.
6. Sinosphere
🇻🇳
Sino-Vietnamese
thoa / sai
Modern Mandarin cāi corresponds to historic Sino-Vietnamese readings, though rarely used outside specific compound words.
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: サイ / Kun: ぬぐ.う
🇰🇷
Hanja (Korean)
채
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story

You set your hunting hound (犭) loose in the clear (青) meadow, and now you have to *guess* which direction it ran.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
请
qǐngto inviteReplaces animal radical with speech radical (讠)
情
qíngemotion/feelingReplaces animal radical with water radical (忄)
晴
qíngsunnyReplaces animal radical with sun radical (日)
Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
青(qīng)
青 means green/blue without the dog radical on the left.
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge
你能不能[___]一下这个谜语？
Clue: cāi
Common Learner Pitfall

Pronouncing the initial 'c' as an English 'k' or 's' sound instead of the crisp, strongly aspirated 'tsʰ' affricate.

Memory Prompts
Recognition: What does 猜 mean and how do you pronounce it with tones?
Production: How do you write the character for 'to guess', and what are its left and right components?
Real-World Video Context

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

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