HanziGuru.臂 · bì
臂
bì[bi4]Tone 4

arm

HSK 7
Guru Deep Dive

English · arm

Cached lesson
1 / 1
Topology:Left-right
Strokes:17
Writing Balance Rule: The character is divided into a left portion (月) and a right portion (辟). Keep the left radical slender and taller, while the right portion occupies the wider space with clear horizontal stacking.
1. Meaning

arm (the upper limb of the human body from the shoulder to the wrist)

anything shaped like or functioning as an arm, such as a crane arm or branch of an organization
NounNeutral#anatomy#body parts
Sample Usage
  • 他受了伤，手臂抬不起来。
    tā shòule shāng, shǒubì tái bù qǐlái.
    He was injured and cannot raise his arm.
  • 胳臂
    gēbo
    arm (colloquial variant)
2. Sound
/[pi⁵¹]/Tone: 51
臂
bìbi4
++
`(51)
=bì
Build the syllable
Step-by-step blending
bi
Tone mark placement: Tone mark sits on "i" per main-vowel priority (a > e > o; in -iu/-ui the mark takes the second vowel).
Initial Consonant
b
Type: Unaspirated Bilabial
Sounds like: English b sound as in 'bat'
Unaspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: No burst of air. A tissue in front of lips should stay still.
Tongue & Mouth Position: Lips pressed together lightly then released.
Final Rhyme
i
Vowel Group: -i vowel group
Sounds like: ee sound as in 'beet'
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'ee'.
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 straight down, just like saying 'No!' in English when you refuse something firmly.
👂
Listening trap: Confusing the Tone 4 falling pitch [51] with Tone 1 level pitch [55] or Tone 2 rising pitch [35]. Ensure it starts high and drops decisively.
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: A swift, sharp chop downward with your hand, mirroring a falling exclamation.
3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 17 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The character is divided into a left portion (月) and a right portion (辟). Keep the left radical slender and taller, while the right portion occupies the wider space with clear horizontal stacking.

4. Components

Radical 月 · Meat/Moon Radical (when on the left, represents 肉 flesh/body parts) (flesh or body parts)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 月 (Indicates body parts or flesh (肉))

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 辟 (original sound: bì)

The flesh radical (月) on the left combines with the phonetic component 辟 (bì) on the right to indicate the fleshy limb attached to the body—the arm.

  • 月 Flesh / body part semantic clue
  • 辟 Phonetic indicator providing the sound 'bì'
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally formed by combining 月 (flesh/body) to represent a body part, and 辟 to give the phonetic reading. Over time, it specifically came to denote the upper limb of humans.

Semantic Evolution: From general flesh/body association to specifically designating the human arm.

  • The left-side 月 is a corrupted form of 肉 (meat/flesh), known as 月字旁 (yuè zì páng) when compressed.
6. Sinosphere
🇻🇳
Sino-Vietnamese
tý
null
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: ヒキ / Kun: うで
🇰🇷
Hanja (Korean)
비
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story

Imagine your body's FLESH (月) is directed and controlled by your will, which you AVOID (辟) injury to by lifting your powerful ARM (臂) to block an incoming object.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
辟
bì(literary) king; monarch; (literary) (of a sovereign) to summon to official servicePhonetic Core (声旁)
避
bìto avoid, escape, keep away from+ 辶 (walking)
壁
bìwall+ 土 (earth)
僻
pì(bound form) remote; out of the way+ 亻 (person)
Explore this family →
Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
避(bì)
避 has the walking radical (辶) for moving away to avoid something, while 臂 has the flesh radical (月) for the arm body part.
壁(bì)
壁 has the earth/ground radical (土) at the bottom representing a brick wall, whereas 臂 has the flesh radical (月) on the left.
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge
他搬重物时拉伤了右[___]。
Clue: bì
Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing 臂 (bì) with lookalikes like 避 or 壁 because they share the same phonetic component 辟, ignoring the radical on the left or bottom.

Memory Prompts
Recognition: What does the character 臂 mean and how is it pronounced with tones?
Production: How do you write the character for 'arm' (bì) using the flesh radical and phonetic component?
Real-World Video Context

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

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