襬 (bǎi) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

襬

bǎi[bai3]Tone 3

hem (at the bottom of a garment)

HSK 4

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摆

Multiple Readings (多音字):

Guru Deep Dive

English · hem (at the bottom of a garment)

Cached lesson

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:13

Writing Balance Rule: The left side (扌) is narrower and compressed, while the right side (罢) is wider and balanced to prevent the character from feeling lopsided.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 襬 uses 衣 (clothing) on the left, whereas the simplified form 摆 replaces it with 扌 (hand), reflecting its common verbal meaning of 'to arrange' or 'to swing'.

1. Meaning

hem or skirt bottom

to put, place, or arrangeto swing or swayto display or exhibitpendulum swing

Noun / VerbNeutral#clothing#position#motion

Sample Usage

裙子上有美丽的花纹。
qúnzi shàngyǒu měilì de huāwén.
There are beautiful patterns on the skirt hem.
他把书摆在桌子上。
tā bǎ shū bǎi zài zhuōzi shàng.
He placed the books on the table.

2. Sound

/[paɪ̯²¹⁴]/Tone: 214

襬

bǎibai3

ˇ(214)

=bǎi

Initial Consonant

Type: Unaspirated Bilabial

Sounds like: b sound like in English '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

Vowel Group: -a vowel group

Sounds like: -ai rhymes with 'eye' or 'hi'

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

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

Tone

T3 (214)

2 → 1 → 4 (214)

3rd Tone (Low-Dipping)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 3 dips low in pitch before rising slightly, similar to saying 'What?' in disbelief.

Sandhi: When followed by another 3rd tone, bǎi shifts to a 2nd tone (35) due to third-tone sandhi rules.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the 3rd tone dipping contour with the 4th tone sharp fall, leading listeners to hear bà instead of bǎi.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Trace a checkmark in the air: dip down from chest level to your lowest point, then rise back up to your chin.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 13 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left side (扌) is narrower and compressed, while the right side (罢) is wider and balanced to prevent the character from feeling lopsided.

4. Components

Radical 扌 · Hand Radical (Hand action or manipulation)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 扌 (Indicates physical action done with the hand (such as arranging or swinging))

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 罢 (original sound: bà / bǎi)

A hand (扌) reaches out to stop or arrange a net (罢), signifying putting things in order or swinging them into place.

扌 Hand component
罢 Phonetic and structural component meaning cease or net

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally derived from garments (衣), the character evolved to incorporate hand actions (扌) as hands are used to arrange clothing hems or set objects in place.

Semantic Evolution: Shifted from exclusively referring to garment hems to covering physical placement, display, and waving motions.

In classical texts, 襬 specifically denoted the trailing bottom edge of traditional robes.

6. Sinosphere

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

You use your HAND (扌) to swing and ARRANGE (bǎi) the hem of your gown before a grand ball.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

罢

bàto stop / finishWithout the hand radical, it means to stop or quit.

摆

bǎito place / swing / hemAdds the hand radical to indicate physical placement or action.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

买(mǎi)

买 means 'to buy' and has a hook top, whereas 摆 has the hand radical and phonetic right side.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

她在商店裡仔細地[___] S-shaped goods on the shelf.

Clue: bǎi

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the simplified hand radical 扌 with the clothing radical 衣 when writing from memory.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What does 摆 mean when you see it in 摆设 (furnishings)?

Production: How do you write the character for 'hem' or 'to place' with 13 strokes?

襬bǎihem (at the bottom of a garment)

Speed:

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