配 (pèi) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

配

pèi[pei4]Tone 4

to match, fit, deserve, allocate

HSK 3

Guru Deep Dive

English · to match, fit, deserve, allocate

Cached lesson

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:10

Writing Balance Rule: The left side (the wine jar radical) should be compact and narrow, leaving sufficient horizontal space for the right side (the village/hand component) so the character remains balanced and avoids feeling split apart.

1. Meaning

to match or fit properly

to deserveto mate (animals)to mix or compound (a medical prescription)to allocate or assign

VerbNeutral#relationships#action#pharmacy#adequacy

Sample Usage

这双鞋很配你的衣服。
Zhè shuāng xié hěn pèi nǐ de yīfu.
These shoes match your clothes very well.
他配得上这个荣誉。
Tā pèi de shàng zhè ge róngyù.
He deserves this honor.

2. Sound

/[pʰeɪ̯⁵¹]/Tone: 51

配

pèipei4

`(51)

=pèi

Initial Consonant

Type: Aspirated Bilabial

Sounds like: p sound like in the English word 'pat'

Aspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Strong puff of air! A tissue held before lips MUST fly forward.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Both lips closed tightly, then released with a strong burst of air

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -e vowel group

Sounds like: ei rhymes with the 'ay' sound in 'day'

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

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 at the upper register and plunges straight down, exactly like a sharp command in English ('Go!').

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the 4th tone drop with Tone 1 or Tone 3. Ensure the pitch starts high and plunges decisively.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Tone 4 starts high and drops sharply down like a decisive chop or a stern 'No!', matching a sudden downward head nod.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 10 strokes

4. Components

Radical 酉 · Wine Jar Radical (wine jar, alcohol)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 酉 (indicates fermented blending, mixing, or compounding)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 己 (original sound: jǐ / pèi sound evolution)

A wine jar (酉) is carefully blended and matched with personal ingredients or measures (己) to create the perfect mixture or match.

酉 Wine jar, symbolizing fermentation, mixing, or blending liquids
己 Self, individual, or fitting one's personal standard

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

12· Phonetic Root: 己 (jǐ)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally combined the wine jar radical (酉) with a phonetic element indicating pairing or blending liquids together.

Semantic Evolution: Shifted from the physical act of mixing and blending wines to the broader abstract concepts of matching items, pairing partners, and deserving or fitting a standard.

In traditional medicine, it referred to compounding various herbal ingredients into a single prescription.

6. Sinosphere

🇻🇳

Sino-Vietnamese

phối

High rising tone in Sino-Vietnamese corresponding to Chinese falling tone shifts historically.

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: ハイ / Kun: 配.る

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

배

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

Imagine mixing two special ingredients in a wine jar (酉) to make a custom potion that perfectly fits (配) your exact personal identity (己).

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

配

pèito match, fitBase character with wine jar

酒

jiǔwine, alcoholUses water (氵) plus wine jar (酉) for liquid alcohol

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

巳(sì)

The bottom right component has the last stroke open (己), whereas 巳 is completely closed at the top.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

这件外套和我的裤子很[___]。

Clue: pèi

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the component 己 (jǐ) inside the right side with 巳 (sì) or 已 (yǐ), which ruins handwriting accuracy.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see 配, what does it mean when describing clothing or colors?

Production: How do you write the character for 'to match / to deserve' (pèi) starting with the wine jar radical?

配pèito match, fit, deserve, allocate

Speed:

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