衰 (shuāi) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

衰

shuāi[shuai1]Tone 1

decay

HSK 7

Multiple Readings (多音字):

Guru Deep Dive

English · decay

Cached lesson

1 / 1

Topology:Top-bottom

Strokes:10

Writing Balance Rule: The top portion (衣 without the bottom skirt) crowns the character, while the bottom portion (𣥂 or similar elements) spreads out evenly to maintain structural stability.

1. Meaning

to decline, to decay, to wane

to weakenweak

Verb / AdjectiveFormal / LiteraryBound morpheme#condition#status#time

Sample Usage

人口老龄化导致劳动力衰减。
rénkǒu lǎolínghuà dǎozhì láodōnglì shuāijiǎn.
Population aging leads to a decline in the labor force.
他的身体渐渐衰弱了。
tā de shēntǐ jiànjiàn shuāiruò le.
His health is gradually weakening.

2. Sound

/[ʂuai̯⁵⁵]/Tone: 55

衰

shuāishuai1

¯(55)

=shuāi

Build the syllable

Step-by-step blending

shuai

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: Retroflex Fricative

Sounds like: sh (retroflex sh sound)

UnaspiratedRetroflex

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

Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip curled back near the hard palate without touching it, letting air pass through the narrow groove.

Final Rhyme

uai

Vowel Group: -a vowel group

Sounds like: -uai rhymes with why

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

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

Abbreviated Rhyme Rule: uai combines the high rounded glide u with the diphthong -ai.

Tone

T1 (55)

5 → 5 (55)

1st Tone (High-Flat)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 1 is a high, steady pitch, similar to sustaining a high musical note in English sentence surprise or chanting.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the retroflex initial 'shu-' with the alveolar initial 'su-', or mishearing the high level Tone 1 (55) as a rising tone.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A flat, high outstretched hand held steady in the air, matching the high level pitch of Tone 1.

3. Writing

Topology: Top-bottom · Strokes: 10 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The top portion (衣 without the bottom skirt) crowns the character, while the bottom portion (𣥂 or similar elements) spreads out evenly to maintain structural stability.

4. Components

Radical 衣 · Clothes Radical (Clothing, garments)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 衣 (Indicates the original meaning related to wearing garments or things fraying/wearing out over time.)

The character combines an upper crown element with a lower structure representing worn-out or sagging fabric.

衣 Garment or clothing element
𣥂 Signifies dropping, declining, or falling apart

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

3· Phonetic Root: 衰 (cuī)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally depicted worn-out or ragged garments (衣), representing the natural process of material decay and waning over time.

Semantic Evolution: From physical clothing fraying and wearing out, the meaning broadened to any form of decline, weakening, or decay in health, empires, or spirits.

Often paired with words like 衰老 (aging) and 衰退 (decline) in classical Chinese literature.

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: スイ (sui) / Kun: おとろ.える (otoroeru)

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

쇠

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

Imagine an expensive silk coat (衣) that has been left out in the rain for too long; the threads snap, the colors fade, and it begins to decay and wane (shuāi) into ragged pieces.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

榱

cuīrafter (classical)+ 木 (tree)

蓑

suōvariant of 蓑[suo1]+ 艹 (plants)

Explore this family →

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

变(biàn)

变 means to change, whereas 衰 specifically denotes declining or decaying.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

随着年龄的增长，人的体力会逐渐[___]。

Clue: shuāi

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the retroflex initial 'shu-' with 'su-', or misremembering the tone contour.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What does the character 衰 mean and how is it pronounced?

Production: How do you write the literary character for 'to decline or decay' (shuāi)?

衰shuāidecay

Speed:

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