追 (duī) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

追

duī[dui1]Tone 1

to sculpt, to carve

HSK 3

Multiple Readings (多音字):

Guru Deep Dive

English · to sculpt, to carve

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:9

Writing Balance Rule: The left component (王/玉 radical) should be narrower to leave ample breathing room for the right component (隹). Keep horizontal strokes parallel and evenly spaced.

1. Meaning

to sculpt or carve objects, typically stone or metal

referring to an ancient musical instrument

VerbLiteraryBound morpheme#art#craftsmanship#history

Sample Usage

追琢
duī zhuó
to carve and polish
追錾
duī zàn
to chisel and engrave

2. Sound

/[tuɪ̯⁵⁵]/Tone: 55

追

duīdui1

¯(55)

=duī

Initial Consonant

Type: Unaspirated Alveolar

Sounds like: d sound in dog

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: No puff of air. Tissue remains still (sounds like English 't' in 'stop').

Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip touches the alveolar ridge right behind the upper front teeth, releasing cleanly without a burst of air.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -i vowel group

Sounds like: rhymes with 'way' or 'do-ee' glide

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

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

Abbreviated Rhyme Rule: ui is short for uei, featuring a high back rounded glide into a front close vowel.

Tone

T1 (55)

5 → 5 (55)

1st Tone (High-Flat)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 1 stays flat and high at the top of your vocal range, like a sustained musical note.

👂

Listening trap: Often confused by beginners with the third-tone 'duǐ' or mistaken for the common word 'zhuī' (to chase) due to similar visual structures.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Tone 1 is a steady, high horizontal line, just like singing a high note consistently without wavering.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 9 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left component (王/玉 radical) should be narrower to leave ample breathing room for the right component (隹). Keep horizontal strokes parallel and evenly spaced.

4. Components

Radical 王 · Jade Radical (Jade or precious stones (derived from 王 when on the left side))

Semantic Clue (形旁): 王 (Indicates that the action involves carving or working with precious materials like jade.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 隹 (original sound: duī / zhuī sound clue providing the phonetic pronunciation framework.)

A master craftsman works with precious jade (王) using precise tools shaped like a short-tailed bird (隹) to carve intricate sculptures.

王 Jade / precious material semantic clue
隹 Short-tailed bird / phonetic sound clue

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

4· Phonetic Root: 㠯 ()

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Combined from the jade radical (王) indicating raw material and a phonetic element (隹) representing the sound and shape of crafting.

Semantic Evolution: Originally referred specifically to carving precious stones and artifacts, later expanding to metal chiseling and historical musical instruments.

In ancient classical texts, this character was frequently used alongside '琢' (zhuó) to describe gemstone artistry.

6. Sinosphere

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

Imagine an artist holding a block of precious jade (王), meticulously carving it while a small bird (隹) sits on their shoulder singing a melodic tune.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

隹

zhuīshort-tailed birdThe root bird component without the jade radical.

推

tuīto pushReplaces the jade radical with the hand radical (扌).

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

追(zhuī)

Has the walking/movement radical (辶) on the left instead of the jade radical (王), meaning 'to chase' rather than 'to carve'.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

古代工匠擅长用玉石来[___]刻精美的艺术品。

Clue: duī

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing this rare carving character 'duī' with the extremely common high-frequency verb 'zhuī' (to chase, to pursue).

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What does the character 追 mean when paired with the jade radical 王?

Production: How do you write the literary character for 'to sculpt or carve' (duī)?

追duīto sculpt, to carve

Speed:

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