足 (jù) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

足

jù[ju4]Tone 4

excessive

HSK 3

Multiple Readings (多音字):

Guru Deep Dive

English · excessive

Cached lesson

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Topology:Single character

Strokes:7

Writing Balance Rule: Center the vertical elements and ensure the bottom hooks do not extend too widely.

1. Meaning

excessive

too muchoverly

AdverbLiteraryBound morpheme#degree#quantity#limitation

Sample Usage

不拘
bù jū
without restriction / unrestricted
曲突徙薪
qū tū xǐ xīn
bend the chimney and remove firewood (take preventive measures)

2. Sound

/[t͡ɕy˥˩]/Tone: 51

足

jùju4

`(51)

=jù

Initial Consonant

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 the hard palate, front of tongue near lower teeth.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -v vowel group

Sounds like: ü rhymes with the French 'u' or German 'ü'

Note: Written as 'u', pronounced as rounded 'ü' [y].

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

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 abruptly like an emphatic 'No!' in English.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing it with the much more common character '足' (zú - foot) which sounds completely different, or confusing the ü sound with u.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A swift, authoritative karate chop downward representing Tone 4.

3. Writing

Topology: Single character · Strokes: 7 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: Center the vertical elements and ensure the bottom hooks do not extend too widely.

4. Components

Radical 足 · Foot radical (foot, leg)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 口 (mouth)

A mouth over a base indicating excess or stopping.

口 mouth or opening

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

5· Phonetic Root: 足 (jù)

5. History

Liushu category: Compound ideogram (会意)

Origin: Originally depicted a foot or a container reaching its limit, later specialized for meanings of excess or stopping.

Semantic Evolution: Shifted from physical limitation or stopping to the abstract sense of excessive or too much.

Often used in classical Chinese compounds to denote exceeding boundaries.

6. Sinosphere

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

You talk with your mouth (口) past the point of excess, shouting an excessive amount until you hit the limit.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

足(zú)

足 means foot and has a completely different pronunciation and structure.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

这个要求[___]多，难以满足。

Clue: jù

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the literary Classical Chinese reading and usage with the common noun zú (foot).

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What is the reading and primary meaning of 拘 when used in literary contexts for excessive or constrained items?

Production: How do you write the character for excessive/restricted with pinyin jù?

足jùexcessive

Speed:

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