筷 (kuài) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

筷

kuài[kuai4]Tone 4

chopstick

HSK 2

Guru Deep Dive

English · chopstick

Cached lesson

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:13

Writing Balance Rule: The left side (bamboo radical) should be narrower and slightly higher, while the right side (kuài phonetic) balances it out by extending slightly lower.

1. Meaning

chopstick

thin slender sticks used as eating utensils

NounNeutral#cutlery#dining#culture#daily utensils

Sample Usage

用筷子吃饭
yòng kuài zi chī fàn
to eat meals using chopsticks
一双筷子
yī shuāng kuài zi
a pair of chopsticks

2. Sound

/[kʰuai̯⁵¹]/Tone: 51

筷

kuàikuai4

`(51)

=kuài

Initial Consonant

Type: Aspirated Velar

Sounds like: k sound as in kite

Aspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Strong gust of air from throat! Tissue held in front MUST fly forward.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Back of the tongue raises to contact the soft palate, releasing a strong puff of air.

Final Rhyme

uai

Vowel Group: -a vowel group

Sounds like: rhymes with why with an initial u glide

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

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 abruptly, much like saying 'No!' or 'Stop!' in English.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the fourth tone sharp drop with a rising second tone.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A sharp karate chop downward in the air, matching the abrupt drop of Tone 4.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 13 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left side (bamboo radical) should be narrower and slightly higher, while the right side (kuài phonetic) balances it out by extending slightly lower.

4. Components

Radical ⺮ · Bamboo radical (bamboo)

Semantic Clue (形旁): ⺮ (Indicates that chopsticks are traditionally made of bamboo.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 快 (original sound: kuài)

Chopsticks are made of bamboo (⺮) and share the sound of 'fast' (快), because nimble fingers use them quickly.

⺮ Bamboo material semantic
快 Phonetic clue for pronunciation

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

2· Phonetic Root: 快 (kuài)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally, chopsticks were called 箸 (zhù). During the Ming dynasty, boatmen and merchants superstitious about words sounding like 'stop' (住) inverted it to mean 'quick' (快), leading to the creation of the character 筷 with the bamboo radical.

Semantic Evolution: Shifted from regional colloquial slang for eating sticks into the standard modern word for chopsticks.

Chopsticks have been used in China for over 3,000 years, originally for cooking rather than eating.

6. Sinosphere

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

Imagine holding two slender BAMBOO (⺮) stalks and moving them FAST (快) to pick up noodles before anyone else.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

快

kuàifast, happyHeart radical instead of bamboo, meaning quick emotions or joy.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

快(kuài)

快 has the heart radical (忄) meaning fast/happy; 筷 has the bamboo radical (⺮) meaning chopsticks.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

中国人吃饭一般用[___]。

Clue: kuài zi

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the bamboo radical (⺮) on top left with the heart radical (忄) of its phonetic helper 快.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What utensil does the character 筷 represent, and what is its material clue?

Production: How do you write the character for 'chopstick' (kuài) using the bamboo radical and the phonetic for 'fast'?

筷kuàichopstick

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