Writing Balance Rule: The left side (矢) should be narrow and slightly elevated, leaving ample space for the right side (巨) to expand gracefully.
1. Meaning
carpenter's square or right-angle ruler
ruleregulationpatternto carve
NounFormal#tools#geometry#rules#abstract concepts
Sample Usage
规矩
guī ju
rules, established custom, well-behaved
方圆有矩
fāng yuán yǒu jǔ
there are rules and standards for everything
2. Sound
/[tɕy²¹⁴]/Tone: 214
矩
jǔju3
|
++
ˇ(214)
=jǔ
Build the syllable
Step-by-step blending
ju
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
j
Type: Unaspirated Alveolo-Palatal
Sounds like: j sound as in 'jeep' (alveolo-palatal affricate)
Unaspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: No air puff. Lips spread wide like smiling.
Tongue & Mouth Position: Blade of tongue touches the hard palate, releasing gently with no burst of air.
Final Rhyme
u
Vowel Group: -v vowel group
Sounds like: ü sound like French 'u' in 'tu'
Note: Written as 'u', pronounced as rounded 'ü' [y].
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'ü'.
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 and rises, matching the skeptical English question intonation 'Huh?'
Sandhi: When followed by another 3rd tone syllable, jǔ changes to a 2nd tone (rising 35), e.g., 矩形 jǔxíng becomes júxíng in rapid speech.
👂
Listening trap: Often confused with jiǔ or jù by beginners who fail to produce or hear the full dipping contour of Tone 3.
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: Trace a checkmark in the air: dip down sharply from chin level and sweep back up high to the right.
3. Writing
Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 9 strokes
Writing Balance Rule: The left side (矢) should be narrow and slightly elevated, leaving ample space for the right side (巨) to expand gracefully.
4. Components
Radical矢 · Arrow Radical (arrow)
Semantic Clue (形旁):矢 (indicates a straight, measuring instrument or dart-like shape)
Phonetic Clue (声旁):巨 (original sound: jù)
A carpenter takes an arrow (矢) and bends or measures it with a giant (巨) right-angled tool to ensure absolute precision.
矢 Arrow, pointing to straightness and measurement
巨 Giant, providing the sound jǔ/jù and a sense of large scale/structure
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
11· Phonetic Root: 巨 (jù)
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)
Origin: Originally combined 矢 (arrow) representing a straight edge and 巨 (a large framing tool) to denote an L-shaped carpenter's square used for drawing right angles.
Semantic Evolution: From the physical metal or wooden square used by craftsmen to measure angles, it metaphorically extended to mean rules, laws, standards, and behavioral norms.
Ancient Chinese craftsmen relied on the combination of 规 (compass for circles) and 矩 (square for right angles) to plan cities, temples, and daily tools.
6. Sinosphere
🇻🇳
Sino-Vietnamese
củ
Mandarin Tone 3 corresponds roughly to Vietnamese hỏi tone
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: ク / Kun: かね
🇰🇷
Hanja (Korean)
구
Sound Shift Bridge: Shared ancient Sinitic root preserved across East Asian legal and technical terminology.
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story
The giant (巨) craftsman holds an arrow (矢) against his magic L-shaped carpenter's square (矩), carving out strict rules for the entire kingdom.