HanziGuru.纜 · lǎn
纜
lǎn[lan3]Tone 3

cable

HSK 7
View Simplified FormSwitch to Simplified
缆
Guru Deep Dive

English · cable

Cached lesson
1 / 1
Topology:Left-right
Strokes:23
Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (纟) takes about one-third of the width, leaving the remaining two-thirds for the complex right component (覽), keeping both sides balanced in vertical height.
Simplification Logic: The traditional component 覽 is simplified on the right, and the silk radical is reduced to 纟.
1. Meaning

cable, hawser, heavy rope or metal line

to moor a shipto tie up a vessel using ropes or cables
Noun / VerbFormal#technology#transportation#maritime
Sample Usage
  • 轮船抛锚系缆。
    lúnchuán pāomáo xì lǎn.
    The steamship dropped anchor and moored with a cable.
  • 海底电缆
    hǎidǐ diànlǎn
    submarine cable
2. Sound
/[lan²¹⁴]/Tone: 214
纜
lǎnlan3
++
ˇ(214)
=lǎn
Build the syllable
Step-by-step blending
lan
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
l
Type: Alveolar Lateral
Sounds like: l sound
Unaspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: Air flows freely around both sides of tongue.
Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip pressed against the alveolar ridge behind upper front teeth.
Final Rhyme
an
Vowel Group: -a vowel group
Sounds like: an sound like in 'father' plus 'n'
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'ahn'.
Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.
Tone
T3 (214)
3rd Tone (Low-Dipping)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 3 dips down and rises back up, resembling an incredulous English 'What?' or 'Really?'.
Sandhi: When followed by another Tone 3 syllable, changes to a Tone 2 rising pitch (35).
👂
Listening trap: Confusing the low dipping Tone 3 with Tone 2 if spoken quickly in rapid native speech.
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: Start at a medium pitch, dip low down toward your chest, and sweep back up high like drawing a checkmark in the air.
3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 23 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (纟) takes about one-third of the width, leaving the remaining two-thirds for the complex right component (覽), keeping both sides balanced in vertical height.

Simplification Logic: The traditional component 覽 is simplified on the right, and the silk radical is reduced to 纟.

4. Components

Radical 纟 · Silk Radical (silk thread, ropes, cords)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 纟 (Indicates ropes, threads, and cables.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 覽 (original sound: lǎn)

Silk threads (纟) combined with the phonetic/visual concept of a grand view or holding together (覽) gives us a heavy cable (纜) used to tie ships securely.

  • 纟 silk / thread / rope
  • 覽 phonetic and conceptual component providing lǎn
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Combined from the silk/rope signific (纟) and the sound component lǎn (覽) to represent thick hemp or wire ropes used in maritime mooring.

Semantic Evolution: Originally referring specifically to heavy hemp ship cables, it expanded in modern times to include steel wire ropes, tram cables, and telecommunication electric cables (电缆).

  • Heavy cables were vital in ancient Chinese river navigation and maritime trade for towing and docking large vessels.
6. Sinosphere
🇻🇳
Sino-Vietnamese
lãm
Matches the inquiring Vietnamese hỏi tone or heavy low tone depending on historical reading layers.
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: ラン / Kun: 綱
🇰🇷
Hanja (Korean)
람
Sound Shift Bridge: Shared East Asian root vocabulary stem 'lan / ram / ran'.
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story

Imagine a massive ship tied down by giant SILK THREADS (纟) woven together into a super strong CABLE (lǎn) so it won't drift away in the storm.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
覽
Phonetic Core (声旁)
攬
+ 扌 (hand)
欖
+ 木 (tree)
Explore this family →
Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
揽(lǎn)
揽 has the hand radical (扌) for grabbing; 缆 has the silk radical (纟) for cables and ropes.
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge
這艘巨輪靠岸後，船員們立刻拋下 [___] 把船固定住。
Clue: lǎn
Common Learner Pitfall

Writing errors due to the extremely high stroke count (23 strokes), especially in the right-hand phonetic part.

Memory Prompts
Recognition: What does the character 缆 mean, and what do its components (纟 + 览) suggest?
Production: How do you write the character for 'cable/mooring' (lǎn) with the silk radical?
Real-World Video Context

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

Search theme
Accent preference

Results are live YouTube search — accents and levels aren't verified.

纜lǎncable
Speed:
Searching YouTube for native pronunciation videos...
0 / 0
Watch on YouTubeMore Results on YouTube