舒 (shū) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

舒

shū[shu1]Tone 1

to stretch, relax, comfortable

HSK 2

Guru Deep Dive

English · to stretch, relax, comfortable

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:12

Writing Balance Rule: The left side (舍) and right side (予) should be balanced in width, with the left component slightly narrower to accommodate the projecting hook and final stroke on the right.

1. Meaning

to stretch, to unfold, to relax

leisurelysurname Shu

Verb / Adjective / SurnameNeutral#body movement#state of mind#comfort

Sample Usage

舒服
shūfu
comfortable, feeling well
心情舒畅
xīnqíng shūchàng
happy and relaxed mind

2. Sound

/[ʂu˥]/Tone: 55

舒

shūshu1

¯(55)

=shū

Initial Consonant

Type: Retroflex Fricative

Sounds like: sh sound with tongue retroflexed

UnaspiratedRetroflex

Airflow Tactile Test: Hollow wind sound through curled tongue channel.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip curled back near the hard palate

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -u vowel group

Sounds like: oo sound as in 'boot'

Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'oo'.

Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.

Tone

T1 (55)

5 → 5 (55)

1st Tone (High-Flat)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 1 is a high, steady pitch, matching a flat musical note held at the top of your speaking range.

👂

Listening trap: Do not confuse the retroflex shū with the alveolar sū (s), which is pronounced with the tongue flat behind the teeth.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Keep your hand flat and steady at a high pitch in front of your face, like a high horizontal drone note.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 12 strokes

4. Components

Radical 舌 · Tongue Radical (tongue, speech)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 舍 (provides the general semantic base related to giving up or resting)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 予 (original sound: yú / shū sound overlap in ancient Chinese rhyming)

Combining the left side 舍 (house/dwelling or tongue-derived form) with the right side 予 (to give, to provide) to represent stretching out and relaxing.

舍 Left component, meaning dwelling or resting
予 Right component, meaning to give or grant

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

9· Phonetic Root: 予 (yú)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally formed by combining elements indicating a relaxed state of body and mind, stretching out from exertion.

Semantic Evolution: From the physical act of stretching or unfolding limbs to the mental state of relaxation, ease, and comfort (as in 舒服).

Often used in modern vocabulary as part of compound adjectives describing physical and mental well-being.

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: ジョ (jo) / Kun: のべる (noberu)

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

서

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

You are inside a cozy house (舍) being given (予) a massage to stretch out and completely relax (舒).

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

予

yúto giveBase phonetic component without the left radical.

叙

xùto narrateReplaces the left side with the thread/silk radical (纟) to mean stringing words together.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

予(yú)

予 is simpler (4 strokes, meaning 'to give'), whereas 舒 has 12 strokes and includes the left-hand component.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

今天天气很好，出去走走让人觉得很[___]。

Clue: shū fú

Common Learner Pitfall

Mistaking the left component 舍 for another similar radical, or mispronouncing the retroflex initial sh- as a standard English s-.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see 舒, what does it mean and how is it pronounced with tone?

Production: How do you write the character for stretching and relaxing (shū)?

舒shūto stretch, relax, comfortable

Speed:

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