稚 (zhì) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

稚

zhì[zhi4]Tone 4

infantile

HSK 7

Multiple Readings (多音字):

Guru Deep Dive

English · infantile

Cached lesson

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:13

Writing Balance Rule: Keep the left grain radical (禾) slim and slightly shorter, leaving ample breathing room for the right side (隹) so the character does not lean to the right.

1. Meaning

infantile

youngchildishimmature

AdjectiveFormalBound morpheme#age#personality#development

Sample Usage

他的想法很幼稚。
tā de xiǎngfǎ hěn yòuzhì.
His thoughts are very childish/naive.
稚气
zhìqì
childish air, childlike innocence

2. Sound

/[tʂʐ̩˥˩]/Tone: 51

稚

zhìzhi4

`(51)

=zhì

Build the syllable

Step-by-step blending

zhi

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

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

i (-i*)

Vowel Group: -a vowel group

Sounds like: ee sound after retroflex

Note: Written as 'i (-i*)', pronounced as rounded 'i' [y].

Mouth Shape Guide: Combine initial 'zh-' (jr) with final '-i' (rr/zz).

Common Learner Trap: Do NOT pronounce '-i' as 'ee' after zh-! Keep your tongue in the consonant position and buzz 'rr/zz'.

Tone

T4 (51)

5 → 1 (51)

4th Tone (High-Falling)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 4 starts high and plunges straight down, exactly like shouting a sharp 'No!' or giving an abrupt command.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the retroflex initial 'zh-' with the alveolar-palatal 'j-' or retroflex 'ch-'.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A sharp, decisive downward chop with your hand, mirroring the high-to-low pitch plunge of Tone 4.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 13 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: Keep the left grain radical (禾) slim and slightly shorter, leaving ample breathing room for the right side (隹) so the character does not lean to the right.

4. Components

Radical 禾 · Grain Radical (cereal plant, grain)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 禾 (Denotes growing crops, representing youth and immaturity.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 隹 (original sound: zhui -> zhi)

A young, tender stalk of grain (禾) standing alongside a short-tailed bird (隹), representing tender, young growth.

禾 Grain (semantic clue for growing/young plants)
隹 Short-tailed bird (phonetic clue)

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

27· Phonetic Root: 隹 (zhuī)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally combined the grain radical (禾) to signify growing plants and a phonetic element indicating sound. Over time, it extended from 'tender, young crops' to 'infantile and immature humans'.

Semantic Evolution: Shifted from describing tender young plants and crops to describing human behavior or developmental stages that are young, naive, or infantile.

The component 隹 often imparts a 'short/small' or bird-like phonetic value in Chinese characters.

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: チ / Kun: おさな.い

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

치

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

A tender, young grain stalk (禾) guarded by a little bird (隹) that is still too infantile (稚) to fly far away.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

隹

zhuīshort-tailed birdPhonetic Core (声旁)

准

zhǔnto allow, to grant, in accordance with, standard+ 冫 (ice)

谁

shéiwho+ 讠 (speech)

推

tuīto push+ 扌 (hand)

Explore this family →

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

堆(duī)

Has an earth radical (土) on the left meaning 'pile', whereas 稚 has the grain radical (禾).

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

这部电影的剧情有些太[___]了，不够成熟。

Clue: zhì

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the right side component (隹 - short-tailed bird) with similar-looking components like 住 or 佳.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What does the character 稚 mean when combined in 幼稚 (yòuzhì)?

Production: How do you write the character for 'infantile/young' (zhì) using the grain radical and phonetic bird?

稚zhìinfantile

Speed:

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