遮 (zhē) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

遮

zhē[zhe1]Tone 1

to cover

HSK 7

Guru Deep Dive

English · to cover

Cached lesson

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Topology:Semi-enclosure

Strokes:14

Writing Balance Rule: The enclosing structure (广) must gracefully arch over the inner component (庶) without crushing it, leaving enough breathing room inside.

1. Meaning

to cover, to hide, to conceal

to screen offto block (light, view, wind)

VerbNeutral#actions#obstruction#protection

Sample Usage

太阳被云遮住了。
Tàiyáng bèi yún zhē zhù le.
The sun is covered by clouds.
别遮遮掩掩的，有什么话直说！
Bié zhēzhēyǎnyǎn de, yǒu shénme huà zhíshuō!
Stop beating around the bush; say what's on your mind directly!

2. Sound

/[ʈ͡ʂɤ⁵⁵]/Tone: 55

遮

zhēzhe1

¯(55)

=zhē

Build the syllable

Step-by-step blending

zhe

Tone mark placement: Tone mark sits on "e" per main-vowel priority (a > e > o; in -iu/-ui the mark takes the second vowel).

Initial Consonant

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

Vowel Group: -e vowel group

Sounds like: ur sound in urn

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

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

Tone

T1 (55)

5 → 5 (55)

1st Tone (High-Flat)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 1 is high and level, perfectly matching the pitch of a singer holding a high note steadily without wavering.

👂

Listening trap: Mistaking the retroflex initial 'zh-' for an alveolar 'z-' or postalveolar 'zh' (as in English 'measure'), and confusing the retroflex vowel rhyme with standard '-eng' or '-ong'.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A high, flat, level hand motion floating across the top of your visual field, like a drone hovering at a fixed altitude.

3. Writing

Topology: Semi-enclosure · Strokes: 14 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The enclosing structure (广) must gracefully arch over the inner component (庶) without crushing it, leaving enough breathing room inside.

4. Components

Radical 广 · Shelter Radical (building, shelter, cliff)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 广 (Provides the semantic domain of providing shelter or cover over something.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 庶 (original sound: zhè / zhē)

A building or shelter (广) protects and covers the numerous common people or objects (庶) underneath it.

广 shelter or covering roof
庶 multitude / phonetic clue

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

6· Phonetic Root: 庶 (shù)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Combined from the shelter radical (广) representing a roof and (庶) providing the sound and the idea of multitude or concealing beneath.

Semantic Evolution: Originally meant to cover or shade from elements, expanding metaphorically to covering up flaws, secrets, or truth.

It frequently appears in reduplicated form '遮遮掩掩' (evasive, secretive).

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: シャ / Kun: 遮.る

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

Underneath a large shelter roof (广), many people (庶) hold up umbrellas to cover (遮) themselves from the blazing sun.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

庶

shù(bound form) ordinary; numerous; (bound form) pertaining to a concubine (contrasted with 嫡[di2])Phonetic Core (声旁)

摭

zhípick up; to select+ 扌 (hand)

蔗

zhèsugar cane+ 艹 (plants)

鷓

+ 鳥 (bird)

Explore this family →

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

庶(shù)

庶 lacks the outer roof (广) enclosing it.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

乌云把月亮[___]住了。

Clue: zhē

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the retroflex initial zh- with z-, or miswriting the inner component 庶 inside the 广 shelter.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see 遮, what does it mean and how is it pronounced?

Production: How do you write the character for 'to cover / hide' (zhē)?

遮zhēto cover

Speed:

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