Writing Balance Rule: The upper component (敬) should be compressed slightly to make room for the powerful bottom component (言), maintaining a stable vertical center.
1. Meaning
police, law enforcement officer
to warnto alertalarmcaution
Noun / VerbNeutral#law#safety#action#society
Sample Usage
警察
jǐng chá
police officer
警告
jǐng gào
to warn, warning
2. Sound
/[t͡ɕiŋ²¹⁴]/Tone: 214
警
jǐngjing3
|
++
ˇ(214)
=jǐng
Initial Consonant
j
Type: Unaspirated Alveolo-Palatal
Sounds like: j sound as in 'jeep'
Unaspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: No air puff. Lips spread wide like smiling.
Tongue & Mouth Position: Blade of the tongue touches or comes very close to the hard palate, front teeth close together.
Final Rhyme
ing
Vowel Group: -i vowel group
Sounds like: -ing rhymes with 'sing'
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'eeng'.
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 starts mid, dips low to the bottom of your vocal range, and rises up, exactly like asking 'What?' in disbelief.
Sandhi: When followed by another Tone 3 syllable, jǐng changes to a Tone 2 (35) sound, e.g., jǐngchá becomes jīngchá in rapid speech.
👂
Listening trap: Do not confuse the soft palatal j- with the retroflex zh- or alveolar z- sounds. Keep the tip of your tongue resting behind your lower front teeth.
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Physical Tone Gesture: Trace a checkmark in the air: start medium-high, dip sharply down to your chest, and sweep back up to the right.
3. Writing
Topology: Top-bottom · Strokes: 19 strokes
Writing Balance Rule: The upper component (敬) should be compressed slightly to make room for the powerful bottom component (言), maintaining a stable vertical center.