HanziGuru.聖 · shèng
聖
shèng[sheng4]Tone 4

holy, sacred, sage, saint

HSK 6
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圣
Guru Deep Dive

English · holy, sacred, sage, saint

Cached lesson
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Topology:Left-right
Strokes:5
Writing Balance Rule: The left component (耳) is compressed to make space for the right structural elements (口 and 王), keeping the entire character well-balanced within an imaginary square grid.
Simplification Logic: Simplified from 聖 (13 strokes) to 圣 (5 strokes) by replacing the complex phonetic and semantic parts with simpler components while preserving the core ear and king elements conceptually.
1. Meaning

holy, sacred, saintly

peerless in wisdom or moral virtueparagon or master of a skillemperor (historical)
Adjective / NounFormal / LiteraryBound morpheme#religion#morality#reverence#authority
Sample Usage
  • 孔子是中国古代伟大的思想家和圣人。
    kǒngzi shì zhōngguó gǔdài wěidà de sīxiǎngjiā hé shèngrén.
    Confucius is a great ancient Chinese thinker and sage.
  • 这座山在当地被视为神圣的地方。
    zhè zuò shān zài dāngdì bèi shìwèi shénshèng dì dìfāng.
    This mountain is regarded locally as a sacred place.
2. Sound
/[ʂɤŋ˥˩]/Tone: 51
聖
shèngsheng4
++
`(51)
=shèng
Initial Consonant
sh
Type: Retroflex Fricative
Sounds like: sh sound with retroflex tongue position
UnaspiratedRetroflex
Airflow Tactile Test: Hollow wind sound through curled tongue channel.
Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip curled back near hard palate
Final Rhyme
eng
Vowel Group: -e vowel group
Sounds like: -eng rhymes with rung
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'uhng'.
Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.
Tone
T4 (51)
4th Tone (High-Falling)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 4 starts high and plunges down abruptly, much like saying 'No!' or 'Stop!' in English.
👂
Listening trap: Confusing the retroflex 'sh-' with the alveolar 's-', or confusing Tone 4 (shèng) with Tone 2 (shéng).
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: A sharp, decisive downward chop with your hand, mirroring the falling drop of Tone 4.
3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 5 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left component (耳) is compressed to make space for the right structural elements (口 and 王), keeping the entire character well-balanced within an imaginary square grid.

Simplification Logic: Simplified from 聖 (13 strokes) to 圣 (5 strokes) by replacing the complex phonetic and semantic parts with simpler components while preserving the core ear and king elements conceptually.

4. Components

Radical 耳 · Ear Radical (Ear, hearing, listening)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 耳 (Indicates that a sage or holy person hears and comprehends the voice of heaven or profound wisdom.)

A sage (圣) is someone who listens (耳) intently to the world and rules with kingly (王) wisdom and virtue.

  • 耳 Ear / listening
  • 又 Hand / action
  • 土 Earth / soil (simplified from 壬/王)
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally a phono-semantic compound where 耳 (ear) represents acute hearing and understanding, denoting someone whose perception is exceptionally wise and divine.

Semantic Evolution: From ancient times denoting someone who hears the dao or commands spiritual authority, it evolved to mean holy, sacred, and a saint or paragon in philosophy and religion.

  • In Confucian tradition, a 圣人 (sage) is the highest tier of human moral and intellectual achievement, surpassing even the gentleman (君子).
6. Sinosphere
🇻🇳
Sino-Vietnamese
thánh
Mandarin Tone 4 corresponds to Vietnamese sắc or nặng tone depending on historical developments, here matching an acute falling quality.
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: セイ / ショウ / Kun: ひじり
🇰🇷
Hanja (Korean)
성
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story

To become a **sage** (shèng), you must use your **ear** (耳) to listen to wisdom from the king of the earth, delivering holy decrees with a sharp downward tone.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
经
jīngclassic, scriptureUses silk thread radical (纟) on the left instead of ear.
怪
guàimonster, strangeUses vertical heart radical (忄) on the left.
Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
怪(guài)
怪 has the heart radical (忄), meaning strange or monster, whereas 圣 has the ear radical (耳) relating to a sage.
经(jīng)
经 features the silk radical (纟) for classics/threads, not the ear/sage radical.
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge
孔子是中國古代著名的[___]人。
Clue: shèng
Common Learner Pitfall

Mistaking 圣 for other lookalike characters with similar right-hand components like 怪 or 经, or applying Tone 1 instead of the sharp Tone 4.

Memory Prompts
Recognition: When you see '圣', what English glosses and tone come to mind?
Production: How do you write and pronounce the character for 'holy/sage' with Tone 4?
Real-World Video Context

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

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