HanziGuru.筛 · shāi
筛
shāi[shai1]Tone 1

a sieve; to sift; to pour wine

HSK 7
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篩
Guru Deep Dive

English · a sieve; to sift; to pour wine

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Topology:Left-right
Strokes:13
Writing Balance Rule: The left side (Bamboo radical 竹) is slightly narrower and taller, while the right side (shī 师) provides a stable structural anchor. Keep the components balanced horizontally without letting either side overpower the other.
Simplification Logic: The traditional form 篩 uses 師 on the right. The simplified form retains the same structure since 篩 was already relatively standardized.
1. Meaning

a sieve; to filter or sift

to eliminate through selectionto warm a pot of rice wineto pour wine or teato strike a gong (dialect)
Noun / VerbNeutralBound morpheme#tools#food and beverage#actions
Sample Usage
  • 用筛子把面粉筛一下。
    Yòng shāizi bǎ miànfěn shāi yīxià.
    Use a sieve to sift the flour.
  • 服务员正在给客人筛茶。
    Fúwùyuán zhèngzài gěi kèrén shāi chá.
    The waiter is pouring tea for the guests.
2. Sound
/[ʂaɪ̯⁵⁵]/Tone: 55
筛
shāishai1
++
¯(55)
=shāi
Build the syllable
Step-by-step blending
shai
Tone mark placement: Tone mark sits on "a" per main-vowel priority (a > e > o; in -iu/-ui the mark takes the second vowel).
Initial Consonant
sh
Type: Retroflex Fricative
Sounds like: sh sound with tongue curled back (retroflex)
UnaspiratedRetroflex
Airflow Tactile Test: Hollow wind sound through curled tongue channel.
Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip curled back near hard palate, air flows continuously through the narrow groove without friction explosion.
Final Rhyme
ai
Vowel Group: -a vowel group
Sounds like: rhymes with 'eye' or the 'igh' in high
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'eye'.
Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.
Tone
T1 (55)
1st Tone (High-Flat)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 1 is a high level pitch, matching a flat high note in speech cadence.
👂
Listening trap: Confusing the retroflex initial 'sh-' with the dental/alveolar 's-' sound (e.g., mixing up shāi with sāi). Ensure your tongue curls back and does not touch your lower front teeth.
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: Tone 1 is a high, flat musical note, like singing a single sustained high pitch at the top of your vocal range. Make a flat horizontal gesture with your hand in the air.
3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 13 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left side (Bamboo radical 竹) is slightly narrower and taller, while the right side (shī 师) provides a stable structural anchor. Keep the components balanced horizontally without letting either side overpower the other.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 篩 uses 師 on the right. The simplified form retains the same structure since 篩 was already relatively standardized.

4. Components

Radical ⺮ · Bamboo radical (bamboo, bamboo articles)

Semantic Clue (形旁): ⺮ (Indicates that a sieve is traditionally made of bamboo strips woven together.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 师 (original sound: shī)

A traditional sieve (筛) is made of bamboo (⺮) woven by a master craftsman or teacher (师).

  • ⺮ Bamboo (semantic category of woven utensils)
  • 师 Teacher/Master (provides the sh- pronunciation clue)
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Formed as a phono-semantic compound where the bamboo radical (⺮) denotes the material of a traditional grain-sifting tool, and 师 (shī) supplies the sound.

Semantic Evolution: Originally referring specifically to a bamboo filtering utensil (sieve), the meaning expanded from the physical tool to the verb actions of sifting, filtering, screening out unwanted elements, and by extension pouring hot wine or tea from a heated vessel.

  • Sifting grain with bamboo sieves was an essential agricultural technology in ancient China.
  • The meaning 'to pour wine' comes from using a strainer or warming filter when serving traditional fermented rice wines.
6. Sinosphere
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story

Imagine a master craftsman (师) weaving thin bamboo strips (⺮) together to create a fine kitchen sieve (筛) used to sift out impurities from flour.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
师
shīteacherPhonetic Core (声旁)
狮
shīlion+ 犭 (dog)
浉
shīShi, name of river in Xinyang 信陽|信阳, Henan+ 氵 (water)
蛳
sīsnail+ 虫 (insect)
Explore this family →
Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
师(shī)
师 lacks the bamboo radical (⺮) found at the top left of 筛.
晒(shài)
晒 uses the sun radical (日) instead of the bamboo radical (⺮), meaning 'to dry in the sun'.
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge
我们需要把面粉用[___]子过滤一下。
Clue: shāi
Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing 筛 (shāi, sieve) with 晒 (shài, to sunbathe/dry) because both share the same right-hand phonetic component 师.

Memory Prompts
Recognition: When you see the bamboo radical next to 师 (筛), what action or tool does it represent?
Production: How do you write the character for 'to sift' or 'sieve' (shāi) using bamboo and master?
Real-World Video Context

Watch authentic native speakers pronounce and explain this word in real-world YouTube videos.

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