糙 (cāo) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

糙

cāo[cao1]Tone 1

rough

HSK 7

Guru Deep Dive

English · rough

Cached lesson

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:17

Writing Balance Rule: Keep the left radical (米) narrow and compact, leaving ample space for the right component (喿) so the character remains balanced and avoids looking cramped.

1. Meaning

rough or coarse in texture

crude or unrefined in manner or workmanshipcareless or sloppy (colloquial)

AdjectiveNeutral#texture#quality#behavior

Sample Usage

这块布的质地很糙。
Zhè kuài bù de zhìdì hěn cāo.
The texture of this cloth is very rough.
他的脾气很糙，说话不太讲究。
Tā de píqì hěn cāo, shuōhuà bù tài jiǎngjiu.
His temper is rough and unrefined, and he is not very particular about his speech.

2. Sound

/[tsʰɑʊ̯⁵⁵]/Tone: 55

糙

cāocao1

¯(55)

=cāo

Build the syllable

Step-by-step blending

cao

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

Type: Aspirated Dental Sibilant

Sounds like: ts sound like the 'ts' in 'cats'

Aspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Sharp burst of air through teeth! Tissue MUST flutter strongly.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip touches the back of the lower front teeth, releasing a sharp puff of air.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -a vowel group

Sounds like: -ao rhymes with ow in 'cow'

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

Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.

Tone

T1 (55)

5 → 5 (55)

1st Tone (High-Flat)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 1 stays flat and high at the ceiling of your vocal pitch, exactly like a musical soprano note.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the initial 'c' [tsʰ] with 'z' [ts]. Remember that 'c' is strongly aspirated, while 'z' is unaspirated.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A flat, high-pitched horizontal line drawn in the upper vocal range, like a steady musical note sung high.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 17 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: Keep the left radical (米) narrow and compact, leaving ample space for the right component (喿) so the character remains balanced and avoids looking cramped.

4. Components

Radical 米 · Rice Radical (Rice, grain)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 米 (Indicates grain or physical matter that can be unrefined or coarse (like unpolished rice).)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 喿 (original sound: cāo)

The character combines the rice radical (米) on the left with the sound/meaning hint of clamoring birds (喿) on the right, portraying unhusked, coarse grain that feels rough.

米 Rice / grain (semantic clue for physical texture)
喿 Clamor / noisy birds (phonetic clue)

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

3· Phonetic Root: 造 (zào)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Formed as a phono-semantic compound where 米 (rice/grain) provides the semantic domain of material substance, and 喿 provides the pronunciation. Originally referred to unhusked or coarse rice.

Semantic Evolution: From the physical roughness of unpolished grain, the meaning broadened to describe any rough texture, crude workmanship, or coarse behavior.

In ancient agriculture, grain that still had its hull was unrefined and rough to the touch, giving birth to the general concept of coarseness.

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: ソウ (sō) / Kun: あらい (arai)

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

Imagine touching unpolished grains of rice (米) while three birds on top (喿) are making a noisy commotion because the grain feels so scratchy and rough (cāo) against their feet!

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

造

zàoto make, build, create, inventPhonetic Core (声旁)

簉

zàodeputy; subordinate+ ⺮ (bamboo)

Explore this family →

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

操(cāo)

糙 uses the rice radical (米) because it relates to grain texture, whereas 操 uses the hand radical (扌) because it means to grasp or hold.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

这块木头的表面很[___]，需要用砂纸打磨。

Clue: cāo

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the character with 操 (cāo - to hold/operate) due to the identical right-side phonetic component 喿.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What does 糙 mean when describing a surface or texture?

Production: How do you write the adjective meaning 'rough or coarse' (cāo) using the rice radical?

糙cāorough

Speed:

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