賴 (lài) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

賴

lài[lai4]Tone 4

to depend on, rascally, LINE app (Taiwan)

HSK 6

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赖

Guru Deep Dive

English · to depend on, rascally, LINE app (Taiwan)

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:13

Writing Balance Rule: The left side (束) is compact and narrow, while the right side (贝) is balanced and slightly wider, giving the character a stable and harmonious posture.

Simplification Logic: Simplified from 賴 by replacing the ancient left component elements with simplified radicals while retaining phonetic structure.

1. Meaning

to depend on or rely on persistently, often in a stubborn or unwelcome way

surname LaiLINE messaging app (commonly used as a loanword/verb in Taiwan)to renege on a promise or debtto shift blame onto someone elsebad or rascally behavior

Verb, Adjective, Proper NounColloquial / Neutral#behavior#interpersonal#technology#names

Sample Usage

你别赖在床上了，快起来！
nǐ bié lài zài chuáng shàng le, kuài qǐ lái!
Stop lounging in bed and get up quickly!
这不能怪我，你别赖我。
zhè bù néng guài wǒ, nǐ bié lài wǒ.
This isn't my fault, don't blame me.

2. Sound

/[laɪ̯⁵¹]/Tone: 51

賴

làilai4

`(51)

=lài

Initial Consonant

Type: Alveolar Lateral

Sounds like: l sound as in 'love'

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Air flows freely around both sides of tongue.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip touches the alveolar ridge behind the upper front teeth.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -a vowel group

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

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

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

Tone

T4 (51)

5 → 1 (51)

4th Tone (High-Falling)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 4 starts high and drops sharply to the bottom, much like shouting 'No!' in anger or surprise.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the 4th tone (lài) with the 2nd tone (lái, 'to come'), which rises upward.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A sharp karate chop downwards, representing the firm and abrupt drop of Tone 4.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 13 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left side (束) is compact and narrow, while the right side (贝) is balanced and slightly wider, giving the character a stable and harmonious posture.

Simplification Logic: Simplified from 賴 by replacing the ancient left component elements with simplified radicals while retaining phonetic structure.

4. Components

Radical 贝 · Shell Radical (money, valuables, wealth)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 贝 (Relates the character to wealth, transactions, debts, or financial reneging.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 束 (original sound: shu / lai)

A bundle (束) tied up with money or valuables (贝) represents someone holding tightly onto something they shouldn't, or refusing to pay up debts.

束 bundle / phonetic clue
贝 shell / money / semantic clue

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

10· Phonetic Root: 束 (shù)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Combined from the phonetic element 束 (bundle) and the semantic element 贝 (wealth/shell), originally reflecting financial disputes, debts, and refusing to settle accounts.

Semantic Evolution: From financial defaults (reneging on debts) to general stubbornness, blaming others, lingering somewhere unwanted, and modern slang usages like messaging apps.

In modern Taiwan, '賴' is universally used as both a noun and verb for the LINE messaging application.

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: ライ

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

뢰

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

A rascal refuses to unpack his bundle (束) of money (贝), stubbornly depending on his friend's couch and refusing to pay his debts.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

赖

làidepend on, badBase character with shell/money radical.

漱

shùto gargleUses water radical (氵) instead of shell.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

来(lái)

来 means 'to come' and lacks the shell and bundle components completely.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

輸了遊戲就要認輸，不要耍[___]。

Clue: lài

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the 4th tone lài with lái (to come), leading to confusion between 'to rely on / renege' and 'to arrive'.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see 赖, what are its two most common everyday meanings?

Production: How do you write the character meaning 'to depend on / renege' (lài) using its bundle and money components?

賴làito depend on, rascally, LINE app (Taiwan)

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