识 (shí) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

识

shí[shi2]Tone 2

to know, knowledge

HSK 1

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識

Multiple Readings (多音字):

Guru Deep Dive

English · to know, knowledge

Cached lesson

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:7

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (言) should be compressed into about one-third of the horizontal width, leaving the right component (戠) ample room to display its horizontal strokes evenly.

Simplification Logic: Simplified from 識 by reducing the complex right-side component 戠 while retaining the standard speech radical 言 on the left.

1. Meaning

to know, to understand, knowledge

recognizediscernawareness

Verb / NounNeutral#cognition#mind#learning

Sample Usage

我不认识他。
Wǒ bù rènshi tā.
I don't know him.
知识就是力量。
Zhīshi jiù shì lìliàng.
Knowledge is power.

2. Sound

/[ʂʐ̩³⁵]/Tone: 35

识

shíshi2

´(35)

=shí

Initial Consonant

Type: Retroflex Fricative

Sounds like: sh in ship (with retroflex tongue curl)

UnaspiratedRetroflex

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

Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip curled back toward the hard palate, air passes through a narrow groove.

Final Rhyme

i (-i*)

Vowel Group: -a vowel group

Sounds like: buzzing i after retroflex consonants

Note: Written as 'i (-i*)', pronounced as rounded 'i' [y].

Mouth Shape Guide: Combine initial 'zh-' (jr) with final '-i' (rr/zz).

Common Learner Trap: Do NOT pronounce '-i' as 'ee' after zh-! Keep your tongue in the consonant position and buzz 'rr/zz'.

Abbreviated Rhyme Rule: After retroflex initials like sh-, zh-, ch-, r-, the letter i represents a retroflex voiced apical vowel, not the front high vowel i.

Tone

T2 (35)

3 → 5 (35)

2nd Tone (Mid-Rising)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 2 rises from mid to high pitch, exactly like asking 'What?' in English when you didn't quite catch something.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the retroflex initial 'sh-' with the dental alveolar 's-' (as in 'sì'), or confusing Tone 2 (rising) with Tone 4 (falling).

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Start at a medium pitch and sweep your hand smoothly upward to a high ceiling, imitating a rising question intonation.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 7 strokes

Simplification Logic: Simplified from 識 by reducing the complex right-side component 戠 while retaining the standard speech radical 言 on the left.

4. Components

Radical 言 · Speech Radical (Words, speech, language, communication)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 言 (Indicates that knowing or knowledge originates from spoken communication, words, and teaching.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 戠 (original sound: zhí / shí)

To 'know' (识) someone or something, you use words and speech (言) to inquire and gather facts until it is clear and distinct (戠).

讠 Speech or language
戠 Phonetic clue and indicator of order/clarity

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

10· Phonetic Root: 只 (zhǐ)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Combined from the meaning component 言 (speech/words) and 戠 (phonetic, also conveying the sense of gathering or aligning clearly), representing the mental faculty of recognizing and making sense of information.

Semantic Evolution: Originally referred to knowing or recording information through speech; expanded to general knowledge, cognition, and the ability to recognize people or objects.

In Taiwan, this character is often pronounced in the fourth tone (shì) in certain compound words like 認識 (rènshì).

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: シキ / Kun: し.る, ま.る

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

식

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

Armed with your **speech** (言) and your sharp mind, you examine the clues to **recognize and know** (识) the truth.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

织

zhīto weaveReplaces the right phonetic with silk (纟), turning speech into textile weaving.

炽

chìblazingReplaces the speech radical with fire (火), representing blazing flames.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

织(zhī)

织 has the silk radical (纟) on the left for weaving, whereas 识 has the speech radical (言/讠) on the left for knowledge.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

我不___这个人。

Clue: shí

Common Learner Pitfall

Forgetting that the left side is the simplified speech radical (讠) rather than the water radical (氵), leading to confusion with characters like 汘.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see '识', what does it mean and how is it pronounced in Tone 2?

Production: How do you write the character for 'to know / knowledge' with the speech radical on the left?

识shíto know, knowledge

Speed:

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