規 (guī) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

規

guī[gui1]Tone 1

compass, rule, regulation

HSK 3

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规

Guru Deep Dive

English · compass, rule, regulation

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:11

Writing Balance Rule: The left side (夫) and right side (见) should be well-balanced in width, with the left component slightly narrower to leave ample room for the legs of the right component.

1. Meaning

compass or rule, regulation

to admonishto planto scheme

Noun / VerbNeutral#tools#governance#actions

Sample Usage

我们必须遵守规矩。
wǒmen bìxū zūnshǒu guījǔ.
We must abide by the rules and regulations.
这家公司规模很大。
zhè jiā gōngsī guīmó hěn dà.
This company is large in scale.

2. Sound

/[kweɪ̯⁵⁵]/Tone: 55

規

guīgui1

¯(55)

=guī

Initial Consonant

Type: Unaspirated Velar

Sounds like: hard g sound as in 'go'

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: No burst of air (sounds like 'c' in Vietnamese 'cá' or 'k' in English 'skate').

Tongue & Mouth Position: Back of the tongue raises to touch the soft palate, releasing without a strong puff of air.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -i vowel group

Sounds like: rhymes with way

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

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

Abbreviated Rhyme Rule: ui is short for uei

Tone

T1 (55)

5 → 5 (55)

1st Tone (High-Flat)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 1 is a high, steady pitch, similar to saying 'moth-' or 'key' in a flat, sustained singing tone.

👂

Listening trap: Beginners often mistake the initial 'g' for a 'k' or miss the glide in the middle of the 'ui' vowel.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Keep your hand flat and high at eye level, like drawing a straight horizontal line across the sky.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 11 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left side (夫) and right side (见) should be well-balanced in width, with the left component slightly narrower to leave ample room for the legs of the right component.

4. Components

Radical 见 · See Radical (seeing, vision)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 见 (indicates observation or looking)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 夫 (original sound: fū / guī)

A husband (夫) keeps a watchful eye and vision (见) to ensure rules and household standards are maintained.

夫 husband / phonetic clue
见 see / semantic clue

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

11· Phonetic Root: 夫 (fū)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally depicted a hand holding a compass or measuring square, later combined with phonetic elements to represent laws, standards, and rules.

Semantic Evolution: Shifted from a physical drawing of a drawing compass used for circles to abstract rules, regulations, and institutional frameworks.

Ancient Chinese carpenters used a compass (规) and a square (矩) to draw circles and squares, symbolizing universal order and moral boundaries.

6. Sinosphere

🇻🇳

Sino-Vietnamese

quy

High level matching standard reading

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: キョウ / Kun: すいじゃく

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

규

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

A husband (夫) uses a drawing compass to carefully oversee and inspect (见) the architectural blueprints to make sure everything follows building regulations.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

规

guīcompass, ruleStandard character for rules and compasses.

觏

gòuto meetReplaces the left side with other components while keeping seeing (见).

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

视(shì)

Has a '礻' (altar/spirit) radical on the left instead of '夫', meaning to look or inspect.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

我們做任何事情都要合乎[___]矩。

Clue: guī

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the left component '夫' with '天' or mixing up the stroke order of the right-hand '见' component.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What does the character 规 mean and how is it pronounced with tone?

Production: How do you write the character for compass or rule (guī) using components '夫' and '见'?

規guīcompass, rule, regulation

Speed:

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