HanziGuru.臭 · xiù
臭
xiù[xiu4]Tone 4

smell bad / stinky

HSK 5
Multiple Readings (多音字):
Guru Deep Dive

English · smell bad / stinky

Cached lesson
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Topology:Top-bottom
Strokes:10
Writing Balance Rule: Top part (自) should be slightly compressed and balanced atop the bottom part (犬), ensuring the dog's legs spread outwards securely.
1. Meaning

smell bad, stinky

sense of smell (literary or older usage)disreputable, odious, bad reputation
Adjective / VerbColloquial and neutral#senses#qualities#descriptions
Sample Usage
  • 这块肉已经臭了。
    Zhè kuài ròu yǐjīng chòu le.
    This piece of meat has already gone bad (stinky).
  • 臭豆腐是中国的传统小吃。
    Chòu dòufu shì Zhōngguó de chuántǒng xiǎochī.
    Stinky tofu is a traditional Chinese snack.
2. Sound
/[ɕi̯ou̯⁵¹]/Tone: 51
臭
xiùxiu4
++
`(51)
=xiù
Initial Consonant
x
Type: Alveolo-Palatal Fricative
Sounds like: like 'h' in 'huge' or German 'ich'
Unaspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: Hissing friction with lips stretched wide in a smile.
Tongue & Mouth Position: Blade of the tongue approaches the hard palate with a narrow gap for air friction.
Final Rhyme
iu
Vowel Group: -i vowel group
Sounds like: -iu rhymes with 'yow' or 'ee-oh'
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'yo'.
Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.
Abbreviated Rhyme Rule: iu is short for iou
Tone
T4 (51)
4th Tone (High-Falling)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 4 starts high and drops abruptly, matching an angry or emphatic 'No!' in English.
👂
Listening trap: Confusing the initial 'x-' with 'sh-'. Remember 'x-' is made with the tongue blade near the hard palate, whereas 'sh-' is retroflex.
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: A sharp, forceful downward chop with your hand, representing a sudden drop in pitch from top to bottom.
3. Writing

Topology: Top-bottom · Strokes: 10 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: Top part (自) should be slightly compressed and balanced atop the bottom part (犬), ensuring the dog's legs spread outwards securely.

4. Components

Radical 自 · Self Radical (nose or self)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 自 (represents the nose, through which smells enter)

A nose (自) sniffing a dog (犬) or an animal that smells bad.

  • 自 nose
  • 犬 dog
5. History
Liushu category: Compound ideogram (会意)

Origin: Originally combined 'nose' (自) and 'dog' (犬) because dogs have an acute sense of smell, or because a dog's scent or waste is distinctly pungent.

Semantic Evolution: From the original sense of 'to smell / sense of smell' it shifted primarily to mean 'smelling bad / stinky', and further into figurative meanings like 'infamous' or 'bad reputation'.

  • In classical Chinese, 臭 (xiù) meant any smell, pleasant or foul, but in modern Mandarin it almost exclusively means foul-smelling.
6. Sinosphere
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story

You use your nose (自) to smell a wet dog (犬), and immediately recoil because it smells extremely stinky (xiù)!

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
自(zì)
自 means 'self' or 'nose' on its own; add the dog component (犬) underneath to make it stinky (臭).
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge
垃圾桶里的东西太[___]了，快把它扔了。
Clue: chòu
Common Learner Pitfall

Forgetting the dot on top of the '自' component or mistaking the bottom part for '大' instead of '犬'.

Memory Prompts
Recognition: When you see 臭, what does it mean and how do you pronounce it?
Production: How do you write the character for 'stinky' combining 'nose' and 'dog'?
Real-World Video Context

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

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