瓷 (cí) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

瓷

cí[ci2]Tone 2

porcelain

HSK 7

Guru Deep Dive

English · porcelain

Cached lesson

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:9

Writing Balance Rule: The left component (瓦) should be slightly narrower, leaving ample space for the more complex right component (次).

1. Meaning

porcelain

chinawarechina

NounNeutral#materials#art#household objects

Sample Usage

这套茶具是白瓷做的。
Zhè tào chájù shì báicí zuò de.
This tea set is made of white porcelain.
景德镇的瓷器世界闻名。
Jǐngdézhèn de cíqì shìjiè wénmíng.
Jingdezhen's porcelain is world-famous.

2. Sound

/[tsʰi³⁵]/Tone: 35

瓷

cíci2

´(35)

=cí

Build the syllable

Step-by-step blending

Tone mark placement: Tone mark sits on "i" per main-vowel priority (a > e > o; in -iu/-ui the mark takes the second vowel).

Initial Consonant

Type: Aspirated Dental Sibilant

Sounds like: ts sound like 'ts' in 'cats'

Aspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Sharp burst of air through teeth! Tissue MUST flutter strongly.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip behind the lower front teeth, releasing a burst of air.

Final Rhyme

i (-i*)

Vowel Group: -a vowel group

Sounds like: -i sounds like 'ee' in 'see' after c, s, z

Note: Written as 'i (-i*)', pronounced as rounded 'i' [y].

Mouth Shape Guide: Combine initial 'zh-' (jr) with final '-i' (rr/zz).

Common Learner Trap: Do NOT pronounce '-i' as 'ee' after zh-! Keep your tongue in the consonant position and buzz 'rr/zz'.

Tone

T2 (35)

3 → 5 (35)

2nd Tone (Mid-Rising)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 2 starts mid-pitch and rises sharply to the top, exactly like a question mark in English.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the aspirated 'c' [tsʰ] with the unaspirated 'z' [ts] or the retroflex 'ch' [tʂʰ].

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A rising hand gesture moving upward from low to high, like asking a surprised question.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 9 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left component (瓦) should be slightly narrower, leaving ample space for the more complex right component (次).

4. Components

Radical 瓦 · tile radical (tile, earthenware)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 瓦 (Indicates pottery, tiles, and ceramic materials)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 次 (original sound: cí)

The left side is the tile/pottery radical (瓦), and the right side is the phonetic indicator 'next' (次), combining to represent fired ceramic ware (瓷).

瓦 tile or earthenware (semantic root)
次 phonetic clue for pronunciation 'cí'

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

11· Phonetic Root: 次 (cì)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally, fine ceramics were developed from earthen tiles and pottery. The character combines 瓦 (tile/pottery) for meaning and 次 (phonetic) for sound.

Semantic Evolution: Shifted from general pottery and roof tiles to specifically refer to high-fired, translucent porcelain and chinaware.

China derives its English namesake from porcelain ('china'), highlighting the cultural significance of this material.

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: ジ (ji)

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

자

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

Imagine a priceless porcelain vase (瓷) placed next (次) to a fragile clay tile (瓦) on the shelf.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

次

cìnext, second, time (classifier)Phonetic Core (声旁)

资

zīresources, capital, to provide+ 贝 (shell)

咨

zīto consult; to seek advice+ 口 (mouth)

姿

zībeauty; disposition+ 女 (woman)

Explore this family →

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

慈(cí)

慈 features the heart radical (心) at the bottom, meaning 'kindness' or 'affection', whereas 瓷 features the tile radical (瓦) for porcelain.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

这件[___]器非常珍贵，千万别摔了。

Clue: cí

Common Learner Pitfall

Writing the right-hand component incorrectly by mixing up the strokes of 次 with similar phonetic radicals.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What does 瓷 mean and how is it pronounced?

Production: How do you write the character for porcelain (cí) using the tile radical?

瓷cíporcelain

Speed:

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