矚 (zhǔ) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

矚

zhǔ[zhu3]Tone 3

to gaze at

HSK 7

View Simplified FormSwitch to Simplified

瞩

Guru Deep Dive

English · to gaze at

Cached lesson

1 / 1

Topology:Left-right

Strokes:17

Writing Balance Rule: Keep the left component (目 eye) narrow and compact, leaving ample space for the right component (属 category/belong) so the entire character does not feel squished.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 矚 simplifies the right component's complex inner elements into a cleaner standard structure under Chinese character simplification.

1. Meaning

to gaze at

to stare atto fix attention upon

VerbFormal / LiteraryBound morpheme#vision#attention#observation

Sample Usage

举世瞩目
jǔ shì zhǔ mù
to attract worldwide attention
瞩目
zhǔ mù
to focus attention on / to fix the gaze upon

2. Sound

/[ʈʂu²¹⁴]/Tone: 214

矚

zhǔzhu3

ˇ(214)

=zhǔ

Build the syllable

Step-by-step blending

zhu

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 Retroflex

Sounds like: j/dr retroflex sound

UnaspiratedRetroflex

Airflow Tactile Test: No burst of air. Tongue curled up. Tissue stays still.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip curled back near hard palate

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -u vowel group

Sounds like: oo sound as 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 before rising, similar to the incredulous English question 'Really?'

Sandhi: When followed by another 3rd tone syllable, zhǔ changes to a 2nd tone (rising 35).

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the retroflex 'zh' with the alveolar 'z' (making it sound like 'zǔ' instead of 'zhǔ').

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Start at a mid-high pitch, dip down low to your chest, and sweep upward into the air like a checkmark or the bottom of a V.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 17 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: Keep the left component (目 eye) narrow and compact, leaving ample space for the right component (属 category/belong) so the entire character does not feel squished.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 矚 simplifies the right component's complex inner elements into a cleaner standard structure under Chinese character simplification.

4. Components

Radical 目 · Eye Radical (eye or vision)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 目 (Indicates that the action is performed with the eyes (gazing, looking).)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 属 (original sound: zhǔ)

The eye component (目) looks closely at a designated group or target (属), combining to mean gazing intently at something.

目 eye (semantic clue for looking)
属 category/belong (phonetic clue for zhǔ pronunciation)

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

3· Phonetic Root: 屬

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Combined from 目 (eye) as the semantic indicator of seeing and 属 (to belong/concentrate) as the phonetic indicator providing the sound zhǔ.

Semantic Evolution: Originally meant fixing the eyes upon an object or person, which later broadened in literary and formal contexts to mean drawing intense public attention or focus.

Frequently preserved in modern political and media Chinese in idioms such as '举世瞩目' (attracting worldwide attention).

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: ショク / Kun: みつ.める

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

촉

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

With your two EYES (目) fixed like a category BELONGING (属) to you, you GAZE AT (瞩) the horizon.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

屬

Phonetic Core (声旁)

囑

+ 口 (mouth)

Explore this family →

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

属(shǔ)

Missing the left-side eye radical (目).

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

這場國際體育賽事備受全球[___]。

Clue: zhǔ

Common Learner Pitfall

Forgetting the left-hand eye radical (目) and writing only the right phonetic part (属), or confusing the tone with tone 4.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see 瞩, what formal verb does it represent and what is its radical?

Production: How do you write the formal literary word for 'to gaze at / stare at' (zhǔ) using an eye radical?

矚zhǔto gaze at

Speed:

Searching YouTube for native pronunciation videos...

0 / 0