睹 (dǔ) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

睹

dǔ[du3]Tone 3

to observe, to see

HSK 7

Multiple Readings (多音字):

Guru Deep Dive

English · to observe, to see

Cached lesson

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:13

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (目) takes up about one-third of the width, while the right phonetic component (者) occupies the remaining two-thirds, keeping both sides vertically balanced.

1. Meaning

to see, to observe

to witnessto look at

VerbFormal / LiteraryBound morpheme#vision#perception#action

Sample Usage

有目共睹
yǒu mù gòng dǔ
obvious to all (lit. have eyes, together observe)
目睹
mù dǔ
to witness with one's own eyes

2. Sound

/[tu³⁵]/Tone: 214

睹

dǔdu3

ˇ(214)

=dǔ

Build the syllable

Step-by-step blending

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

Initial Consonant

Type: Unaspirated Alveolar

Sounds like: d sound like in 'do'

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: No puff of air. Tissue remains still (sounds like English 't' in 'stop').

Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip pressed against the alveolar ridge behind upper front teeth, then released gently.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -u vowel group

Sounds like: u rhymes with oo in 'boot'

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

Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.

Tone

T3 (214)

2 → 1 → 4 (214)

3rd Tone (Low-Dipping)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 3 dips low in pitch and rises back up, resembling an incredulous English 'Really?' or 'Huh?'.

Sandhi: When followed by another Tone 3 syllable, dǔ changes to a Tone 2 rising pitch (35).

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the low dipping tone 3 with tone 4, causing native speakers to mishear the word as dù.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Trace a checkmark in the air: dip down from chest level to your waist, then sweep up high to your chin.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 13 strokes

4. Components

Radical 目 · Eye Radical (eye, vision)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 目 (indicates seeing or vision related actions)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 者 (original sound: zhě / dǔ phonetic borrowing)

The eye component (目) looks out and perceives what is happening, combined with the phonetic component (者) which gives the dǔ sound.

目 eye (semantic clue for seeing)
者 person / phonetic helper

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

26· Phonetic Root: 者 (zhě)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Combined from 目 (eye) representing vision and 者 (person/suffix) acting as a phonetic indicator for the sound.

Semantic Evolution: Originally denoting physical sight or looking with the eyes, it extended into literary contexts meaning to witness, observe, or experience firsthand.

Commonly preserved in ancient idioms and formal modern written Chinese such as '有目共睹'.

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: ト / Kun: みる

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

睹

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

With your EYE (目) you look at the PERSON (者) standing before you to OBSERVE and witness their actions.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

者

zhěone who, -er, personPhonetic Core (声旁)

都

dūcapital city, metropolis+ 阝 (city)

猪

zhūpig+ 犭 (dog)

堵

dǔblock up, stop up, wall+ 土 (earth)

Explore this family →

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

赌(dǔ)

睹 uses 目 (eye) for seeing; 赌 uses 贝 (wealth/money) for gambling.

都(dōu)

睹 uses 目 (eye); 都 uses 阝 (mound/city).

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

这件事情的真相是[___]共睹的。

Clue: dǔ

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing 睹 with 赌 (dǔ - to gamble) due to identical pinyin and tone, ignoring that 睹 requires the eye radical (目).

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see 睹, what does it mean and what is its radical?

Production: How do you write the formal literary verb for 'to witness/observe' (dǔ) using the eye radical?

睹dǔto observe, to see

Speed:

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