鄙 (bǐ) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

鄙

bǐ[bi3]Tone 3

despise, rustic, base

HSK 7

Guru Deep Dive

English · despise, rustic, base

Cached lesson

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:14

Writing Balance Rule: The left side (the ear mound component 阝) should be narrower and slightly taller, while the right side (分) should be balanced evenly with clear spacing between its top and bottom parts.

1. Meaning

to despise, to scorn, to look down upon

rustic, vulgar, boorishborder region, frontier territory

verb / adjectiveformal / literary#attitude#sociology#emotion

Sample Usage

他十分鄙视这种行为。
Tā shífēn bǐshì zhè zhǒng xíngwéi.
He utterly despises this kind of behavior.
这是一种很鄙陋的想法。
Zhè shì yī zhǒng hěn bǐlòu de xiǎngfǎ.
This is a very base and vulgar idea.

2. Sound

/[pi²¹⁴]/Tone: 214

鄙

bǐbi3

ˇ(214)

=bǐ

Build the syllable

Step-by-step blending

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

Initial Consonant

Type: Unaspirated Bilabial

Sounds like: English b sound as in 'bee'

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: No burst of air. A tissue in front of lips should stay still.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Both lips closed tightly together then released gently with voice.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -i vowel group

Sounds like: English ee sound as in 'see'

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

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

Tone

T3 (214)

2 → 1 → 4 (214)

3rd Tone (Low-Dipping)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 3 dips down and rises back up, similar to saying 'What?' in English when asking for repetition in disbelief.

Sandhi: When followed by another 3rd tone syllable, bǐ changes to a 2nd tone (rising 35), e.g., 鄙视 bǐshì becomes bíshì in rapid speech.

👂

Listening trap: Do not confuse with pí (2nd tone) or bì (4th tone); ensure the low dipping contour of the 3rd tone is fully executed.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Trace a checkmark in the air: start mid, drop down low to your chest, and sweep upward.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 14 strokes

4. Components

Radical 阝 · Mound Radical / Left Village Radical (Mound, hill, settlement)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 阝 (Represents a remote settlement or rural frontier borderland.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 分 (original sound: fēn / bǐ sound phonetic clue)

A remote settlement (阝) where people are divided (分) from civilized city life, leading to the original meaning of 'rustic' and later 'to look down upon' (despise those from the rustic boondocks).

阝 Mound or frontier settlement
分 To divide or part

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

2· Phonetic Root: 啚

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally formed as a compound of 阝 (mound/settlement) and 分 (to divide). It first denoted border regions far away from the capital—places considered rustic or uncivilized.

Semantic Evolution: From 'frontier / rustic' to 'uncultured / base', and finally extended to mean 'to hold in contempt or despise' (looking down on things deemed base or rustic).

In classical Chinese texts, '鄙' often refers to country folks or outlying districts, as opposed to urban elites.

6. Sinosphere

🇻🇳

Sino-Vietnamese

bỉ

Both use a dipping or low tone contour reflecting ancient entering/low tones.

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: ヒ (hi) / Kun: いやし.む (iyashimu), いや.しい (iyashii)

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

비

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

At the far frontier mound (阝), people are divided (分) into two groups: the arrogant city folks who look down and DESPISE (bǐ) the rustic villagers.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

啚

Phonetic Core (声旁)

Explore this family →

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

粉(fěn)

粉 has 米 (rice/grain) for flour/powder, whereas 鄙 has 阝 (mound) for rustic/despise.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

我们不应该[___]任何一个努力生活的人。

Clue: bǐ

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the right side component 分 with similar looking radicals, or mixing up the 3rd tone pitch contour with 4th tone.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What does 鄙 mean when you see it in 鄙视 (bǐshì)?

Production: How do you write the character for 'to despise' (bǐ) containing the mound radical on the left?

鄙bǐdespise, rustic, base

Speed:

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