HanziGuru.豬 · zhū
豬
zhū[zhu1]Tone 1

pig

HSK 3
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猪
Guru Deep Dive

English · pig

Cached lesson
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Topology:Left-right
Strokes:11
Writing Balance Rule: The left animal radical (犭) should take up about one-third of the width, leaving the right phonetic component (者) slightly wider and balanced with its horizontal bottom stroke.
Simplification Logic: The traditional form 豬 uses 豕 (pig) on the right. In the simplified form 猪, the right side was replaced with 者 as a phonetic simplification to match sound patterns while retaining the animal radical on the left.
1. Meaning

pig, hog, swine

gluttonous or lazy person (slang)
NounNeutral#animals#agriculture#zodiac
Sample Usage
  • 这只猪很胖。
    Zhè zhī zhū hěn pàng.
    This pig is very fat.
  • 属猪的人通常很温和。
    Shǔ zhū de rén tōngcháng hěn wēnhé.
    People born in the Year of the Pig are usually very gentle.
2. Sound
/[ʈʂu˥˥]/Tone: 55
豬
zhūzhu1
++
¯(55)
=zhū
Initial Consonant
zh
Type: Unaspirated Retroflex
Sounds like: j/dr retroflex sound
UnaspiratedRetroflex
Airflow Tactile Test: No burst of air. Tongue curled up. Tissue stays still.
Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip curled back near hard palate
Final Rhyme
u
Vowel Group: -u vowel group
Sounds like: oo sound as in boot
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'oo'.
Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.
Tone
T1 (55)
1st Tone (High-Flat)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 1 is a high, steady pitch, matching the intonation of a single, continuous musical note sung at the top of your voice.
👂
Listening trap: Confusing the retroflex initial 'zh-' with the alveolar initial 'z-', turning 'zhū' into 'zū' (租 - to rent).
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: Keep your hand flat and high in the air, moving in a straight horizontal line from left to right, like a drone hovering at a fixed altitude.
3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 11 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left animal radical (犭) should take up about one-third of the width, leaving the right phonetic component (者) slightly wider and balanced with its horizontal bottom stroke.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 豬 uses 豕 (pig) on the right. In the simplified form 猪, the right side was replaced with 者 as a phonetic simplification to match sound patterns while retaining the animal radical on the left.

4. Components

Radical 犭 · Dog/Animal Radical (quadruped animals)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 犭 (indicates that the character refers to an animal)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 者 (original sound: zhě)

An animal (犭) that has the phonetic sound of 'zhě' (者), modified into 'zhū' to describe a farm animal that loves to eat.

  • 犭 animal classifier radical
  • 者 phonetic clue providing the approximate sound
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally written as 豕 depicting a standing quadruped with a tail in oracle bone scripts. Later, the animal radical 犭 was added alongside the phonetic component 者 to create the modern phono-semantic compound character 豬/猪.

Semantic Evolution: Has consistently referred to domestic swine or pigs since ancient agricultural times, occasionally used metaphorically for laziness or greed in modern colloquial speech.

  • The pig is the twelfth animal in the Chinese zodiac cycle, representing fortune, honesty, and diligence.
  • In ancient China, pigs were a primary source of wealth and protein, often kept right beneath household dwellings in courtyard setups.
6. Sinosphere
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: ちょ / Kun: ぶた
🇰🇷
Hanja (Korean)
저
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story

Imagine an animal (犭) that thinks it is a scholar (者), wearing glasses and reading a book in the mud like a smart little pig.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
煮
zhǔto boilReplaces the animal radical (犭) with fire (灬) at the bottom, because you boil things over fire.
著
zhùto write, prominentUses the bamboo radical (⺮) at the top, referring to ancient bamboo writing slips.
堵
dǔwall, to stop upUses the earth radical (土) on the left, referring to mud walls.
Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
煮(zhǔ)
猪 has the animal radical (犭) because a pig is an animal; 煮 has the fire radical (灬) because boiling happens on a stove.
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge
農場裡養了許多肥壯的[___]。
Clue: zhū
Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the character 猪 (pig) with 煮 (to boil) due to their shared phonetic component 者.

Memory Prompts
Recognition: What animal does 猪 represent, and what is its Pinyin with tone?
Production: How do you write the character for 'pig' using the animal radical and the phonetic component?
Real-World Video Context

Watch authentic native speakers pronounce and explain this word in real-world YouTube videos.

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