葬 (zàng) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

葬

zàng[zang4]Tone 4

to bury

HSK 7

Multiple Readings (多音字):

Guru Deep Dive

English · to bury

Cached lesson

1 / 1

Topology:Top-bottom

Strokes:12

Writing Balance Rule: The top grass radical (艹) crowns the character widely, while the middle parts (two '死' remnants or similar components) stack vertically above the bottom '廾' (two hands). Ensure the vertical centerline is strictly maintained.

1. Meaning

to bury (the dead), to inter

to ruin, to spell doom for (figurative sense)

VerbFormalBound morpheme#death#rituals#actions

Sample Usage

把先人安葬在这里。
bǎ xiānrén ānzàng zài zhèlǐ.
To bury ancestors safely here.
埋葬
máizàng
To bury, to inhume.

2. Sound

/[tsɑŋ⁵¹]/Tone: 51

葬

zàngzang4

`(51)

=zàng

Build the syllable

Step-by-step blending

zang

Tone mark placement: Tone mark sits on "a" per main-vowel priority (a > e > o; in -iu/-ui the mark takes the second vowel).

Initial Consonant

Type: Unaspirated Dental Sibilant

Sounds like: ts sound like 'ts' in 'cats'

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: No air puff (sounds like 'ds' in English 'cards'). Tissue still.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip placed lightly behind upper front teeth, releasing a gentle alveolar affricate without a burst of air.

Final Rhyme

ang

Vowel Group: -a vowel group

Sounds like: -ang rhymes with bang/hang

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

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

Tone

T4 (51)

5 → 1 (51)

4th Tone (High-Falling)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 4 starts high and plunges sharply down, matching an emphatic command or angry exclamation.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing zang4 with zhang4 (retroflex initial) or zang1 (dirty, first tone).

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Tone 4 is a sharp drop, like nodding firmly to say 'No' or hitting the floor.

3. Writing

Topology: Top-bottom · Strokes: 12 strokes

4. Components

Radical 艹 · Grass Radical (Grass, vegetation, plants)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 死 (Indicates death, corpse, or dying)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 廾 (original sound: gǒng)

A dead body (死) covered with grass (艹) and lowered into the ground by two hands (廾) for burial.

艹 Grass / fields where burials take place
死 Death / dead body
廾 Two hands holding / lowering

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

2· Phonetic Root: 葬 (zàng)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally depicted a body placed amidst grass or vegetation, tended by hands lowering it into a pit.

Semantic Evolution: Shifted from the physical act of covering a corpse with earth and grass to formal interment and burial ceremonies, later expanding metaphorically to ruin.

In ancient China, proper burial rites (葬) were considered paramount filial duties and social obligations.

6. Sinosphere

🇻🇳

Sino-Vietnamese

táng

Mandarin tone 4 corresponds to Vietnamese falling/heavy tones.

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: ソウ (sō) / Kun: ほう.むる (hōmuru)

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

장

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

Under the GRASS (艹), a DEAD person (死) is held by two HANDS (廾) to be buried in the earth.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

髒

+ 骨 (bone)

Explore this family →

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

藏(cáng)

藏 has a grass top and a phonetic phonetic body meaning 'to hide', whereas 葬 explicitly involves death and burial.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

人去世后，家属会为他举行[___]仪式。

Clue: zàng

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the reading zàng with cáng (to hide) due to visual similarities in their components.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What does 葬 mean, and what are its core visual components?

Production: How do you write the character for 'to bury' (zàng) using grass, death, and hands?

葬zàngto bury

Speed:

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