Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (月) is narrower and slightly taller, while the right component (莫) is wider and accommodates the bottom horizontal strokes.
1. Meaning
membrane
filmskincoating
NounNeutral#biology#materials#anatomy
Sample Usage
细胞膜
xìbāo mó
cell membrane
胶卷
jiāojuǎn
photographic film (uses film/coating sense in compounds)
2. Sound
/[mo³⁵]/Tone: 35
膜
mómo2
|
++
´(35)
=mó
Initial Consonant
m
Type: Bilabial Nasal
Sounds like: m sound as in 'mother'
Unaspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: Nasal resonance through nostrils.
Tongue & Mouth Position: Lips pressed together gently, air passes through the nose.
Final Rhyme
o
Vowel Group: -o vowel group
Sounds like: o rhymes with 'aw' or 'oh' in 'more'
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'aw'.
Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.
Tone
T2 (35)
3 → 5 (35)
2nd Tone (Mid-Rising)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 2 rises like asking a surprised question in English: 'What?' or 'Really?'
Sandhi: When followed by a third tone, it changes to a rising tone, though typically maintains its base rising contour in isolation.
👂
Listening trap: Confusing the rising tone (Tone 2) with the falling-rising tone (Tone 3), making it sound like mò instead of mó.
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: A rising hand gesture starting from your chest and moving upward and outward, matching a questioning tone in English.
3. Writing
Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 14 strokes
Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (月) is narrower and slightly taller, while the right component (莫) is wider and accommodates the bottom horizontal strokes.
4. Components
Radical月 · Meat/Moon Radical (flesh or body part)
Semantic Clue (形旁):月 (Indicates body parts or bodily tissues (flesh, organ lining))
Phonetic Clue (声旁):莫 (original sound: mó)
Flesh (月) plus the phonetic sound of 'not/sunset' (莫) creates a thin layer of flesh or membrane (膜).
月 flesh radical
莫 phonetic clue for mó
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
24· Phonetic Root: 莫 (mò)
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)
Origin: Combined the flesh radical (月) representing bodily tissue with 莫 providing the sound to signify thin bodily linings and membranes.
Semantic Evolution: Originally referred specifically to bodily tissues and linings, later expanded to cover synthetic films, screen protectors, and thin sheets.
The radical is written as 月 (meat/flesh) when placed on the left side of characters.
6. Sinosphere
🇻🇳
Sino-Vietnamese
mô
Mandarin rising tone corresponds to Vietnamese hỏi or sắc depending on historical derivation, here matched with mô.
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: マク
🇰🇷
Hanja (Korean)
막
Sound Shift Bridge: The phonetic root 莫 provides similar 'm' initial sounds across multiple East Asian Sino-Xenic readings.
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story
A piece of flesh (月) that acts as a sunset screen or thin film (莫) covering a delicate biological surface like a cell membrane.
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
模
mómodel, patternReplaces flesh radical with wood/tree (木) for physical molds.
摸
mōto touch, strokeReplaces flesh radical with hand (扌) for touching actions.
漠
mòdesertReplaces flesh radical with water (氵) for vast dry sand.
Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
模(mó)
模 uses the wood radical (木) for molds, whereas 膜 uses the flesh radical (月) for biological membranes.
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge
生物的细胞外围都有一层细胞[___]。
Clue: mó
Common Learner Pitfall
Confusing the radical components—using the water or hand radical instead of the flesh radical (月) when handwriting.
Memory Prompts
Recognition: What does the character 膜 mean when combined with 细胞 (cell)?
Production: How do you write the character for 'membrane' (mó) using the flesh radical?
Real-World Video Context
Watch authentic native speakers pronounce and explain this word in real-world YouTube videos.
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膜mómembrane
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