Writing Balance Rule: The illness enclosure radical (疒) on the left provides the structural frame, while the right component (皮) nests snugly inside and beneath its overhanging roof.
1. Meaning
tired, weary, exhausted
fatiguedweakenedworn out
AdjectiveNeutral#physical state#emotions#health
Sample Usage
我今天工作很疲惫。
wǒ jīntiān gōngzuò hěn píbèi.
I am very exhausted from work today.
别把自己累疲了。
bié bǎ zìjǐ lèi pí le.
Don't wear yourself out to the point of exhaustion.
2. Sound
/[pʰi³⁵]/Tone: 35
疲
pípi2
|
++
´(35)
=pí
Build the syllable
Step-by-step blending
pi
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
p
Type: Aspirated Bilabial
Sounds like: p sound in English 'pin'
Aspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: Strong puff of air! A tissue held before lips MUST fly forward.
Tongue & Mouth Position: Both lips closed tightly together before bursting open with a puff of air.
Final Rhyme
i
Vowel Group: -i vowel group
Sounds like: ee sound in English 'see'
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'ee'.
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 from mid to high pitch, identical to the upward intonation used in English when asking 'Really?'
👂
Listening trap: Confusing the rising Tone 2 (pí) with Tone 4 (pì), which falls sharply and sounds angrier or more abrupt.
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: A rising hand gesture moving from low-middle to high, matching the upward inflection of an inquisitive 'What?' in English.
3. Writing
Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 10 strokes
Writing Balance Rule: The illness enclosure radical (疒) on the left provides the structural frame, while the right component (皮) nests snugly inside and beneath its overhanging roof.
Semantic Clue (形旁):疒 (Indicates a condition of the body, specifically illness or bodily breakdown.)
Phonetic Clue (声旁):皮 (original sound: pí)
When your skin (皮) is trapped in a bed of sickness (疒), your body becomes completely worn out and weary (疲).
疒 Sickness / bed enclosure
皮 Skin / phonetic provider
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
15· Phonetic Root: 皮 (pí)
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)
Origin: Combined from the sickness radical (疒) representing physical distress and skin/surface (皮) which supplies the sound and a sense of worn-out skin or surface wear.
Semantic Evolution: Originally referred to bodily illness and fatigue; extended in modern Chinese to mental exhaustion, weariness, and wear and tear in general.
The sickness radical is often found in characters describing various ailments, weaknesses, and pains.
6. Sinosphere
🇻🇳
Sino-Vietnamese
bì
Corresponds to the heavy falling/glottal tone in Vietnamese, whereas Mandarin uses the rising tone 2.
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: ヒ (hi) / Kun: つかれ (tsukare)
🇰🇷
Hanja (Korean)
피
Sound Shift Bridge: The initial p- sound mirrors initial bilabial plosives across Germanic and Romance language cognates denoting fatigue or skin.
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story
You are lying sick in bed under the sickness canopy (疒), pulling at your peeling skin (皮) because working too hard has left you completely weary (pí).
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
皮
pískin, leather, furPhonetic Core (声旁)
破
pòbroken+ 石 (stone)
被
bèiquilt, to cover, passive voice marker+ 衤 (clothes)