瞪 (dèng) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

瞪

dèng[deng4]Tone 4

to stare, to glare, to open eyes wide

HSK 7

Guru Deep Dive

English · to stare, to glare, to open eyes wide

Cached lesson

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:16

Writing Balance Rule: The left side (eye radical) takes up roughly one-third of the width, while the right side (component for upright/lamp) takes up the remaining two-thirds, keeping both halves balanced vertically.

1. Meaning

to stare or glare at someone by opening the eyes wide

to open eyes wide in surprise or angerto strain or push oneself physically (colloquial)

VerbNeutral#vision#facial expressions#emotions

Sample Usage

他生氣地瞪着我。
Tā shēngqì de dèng zhe wǒ.
He glared at me angrily.
你瞪大眼睛看着這裏。
Nǐ dèng dà yǎnjīng kàn zhe zhèlǐ.
You open your eyes wide and look here.

2. Sound

/[tɤŋ˥˩]/Tone: 51

瞪

dèngdeng4

`(51)

=dèng

Build the syllable

Step-by-step blending

deng

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

Type: Unaspirated Alveolar

Sounds like: d sound as in dog

Unaspirated

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

Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip touches the gum ridge behind the upper front teeth.

Final Rhyme

eng

Vowel Group: -e vowel group

Sounds like: -eng rhymes with rung, but with an 'eh' vowel quality

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

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

Tone

T4 (51)

5 → 1 (51)

4th Tone (High-Falling)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 4 starts high and drops sharply to the bottom of your vocal range, matching an emphatic downward pitch in English.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the vowel sound with the English 'eng' or mishearing the Tone 4 drop as a flat tone.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Tone 4 is a sharp drop, like nodding your head firmly downward while saying 'No!' or giving a sudden command.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 16 strokes

4. Components

Radical 目 · Eye Radical (eye, vision)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 目 (indicates that the action relates to the eyes)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 登 (original sound: dēng)

The eye radical (目) on the left pairs with the phonetic component 'to ascend/step up' (登) on the right to form a character about climbing or raising one's visual intensity upward in a stare.

目 eye / vision
登 to ascend / phonetic sound clue

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

13· Phonetic Root: 登 (dēng)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Combined from the eye symbol (目) indicating looking, and (登) providing the pronunciation while adding the nuance of elevating or straining.

Semantic Evolution: Originally referring to wide-open eyes, it evolved to specifically mean staring aggressively or glaring at someone.

The right component 登 contributes both the sound and the idea of elevation, metaphorically raising the eyes.

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: トウ / Kun: みはる

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

You use your EYES (目) to CLIMB (登) up and down someone's face when you STARE or GLARE at them.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

登

dēngto climb, ascend, publishPhonetic Core (声旁)

凳

dèngstool, bench+ 几 (small table)

橙

chéngorange+ 木 (tree)

澄

chéngvariant of 澄[cheng2]+ 氵 (water)

Explore this family →

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

登(dēng)

Missing the eye radical (目) on the left side.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

他生氣地[___]着我。

Clue: dèng

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the right-hand side component 登 with other similar phonetic parts or forgetting the eye radical 目.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What does 瞪 mean and how is it pronounced with tones?

Production: How do you write the character for 'to glare or stare at'?

瞪dèngto stare, to glare, to open eyes wide

Speed:

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