重 (chóng) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

重

chóng[chong2]Tone 2

heavy, repeat, layer

HSK 1

Multiple Readings (多音字):

Guru Deep Dive

English · heavy, repeat, layer

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Topology:Top-bottom

Strokes:9

Writing Balance Rule: Maintain vertical symmetry with horizontal strokes evenly spaced. The top part (千) crowns the bottom part (里) stably.

1. Meaning

to repeat, to do again

layerrepetitionclassifier for layers or tiers

verb / classifierNeutral#action#quantity#structure

Sample Usage

重新
chóng xīn
anew, afresh, re-
重蹈覆辙
chóng dǎo fù zhé
to repeat the same old disastrous track

2. Sound

/[ʈ͡ʂʰʊŋ³⁵]/Tone: 35

重

chóngchong2

´(35)

=chóng

Initial Consonant

Type: Aspirated Retroflex

Sounds like: retroflex 'ch' sound similar to 'tr' in Australian/British 'tree' said with curled tongue

AspiratedRetroflex

Airflow Tactile Test: Both curled tongue AND explosive puff of air! Tissue MUST fly.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip curled back near hard palate, releasing a strong puff of air.

Final Rhyme

ong

Vowel Group: -o vowel group

Sounds like: -ong rhymes with rung

Mouth Shape Guide: Combine initial 'h-' (h) with final '-ong' (oong).

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

Tone

T2 (35)

3 → 5 (35)

2nd Tone (Mid-Rising)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 2 rises like a question mark in English, going from a mid pitch up to a high pitch (35).

👂

Listening trap: Often confused with zhòng (heavy, Tone 4). Remember that chóng carries the rising Tone 2 (repeating action), while zhòng carries the falling Tone 4 (weight).

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A rising hand gesture starting from your chest and moving upward, like asking a question with surprise: 'Again?!'

3. Writing

Topology: Top-bottom · Strokes: 9 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: Maintain vertical symmetry with horizontal strokes evenly spaced. The top part (千) crowns the bottom part (里) stably.

4. Components

Radical 里 · Village / Mile Radical (village, distance unit, inside)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 里 (provides structural layering and depth context)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 千 (original sound: qiān / chóng sound cluster association in historical phonology)

A thousand (千) layers inside (里) pile up on top of each other, creating repetition or weight.

千 thousand / top element
里 village / bottom element

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

8· Phonetic Root: 重 (chóng)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally depicted a person standing with something heavy or stacked layers, evolving to represent piling up and repetition.

Semantic Evolution: From stacked physical layers or heavy burdens to abstract meanings like 'repeating an action' (chóng) and 'weight/heavy' (zhòng).

This character has two common pronunciations: chóng (to repeat) and zhòng (heavy). Both share the same root glyph depicting piled layers.

6. Sinosphere

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

You have a THOUSAND (千) things piled INSIDE (里) your bag, so you have to REPEAT (chóng) unpacking them over and over again.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

重

chóng / zhòngrepeat / heavyBase character for layers, weight, and repetition.

种

zhǒngseed, kind, typeGrain/seed radical (禾) + heavy/layered phonetic.

冲

chōngto rush, to flushWater radical (氵) + phonetic component.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

里(lǐ)

里 is just the bottom half of 重 without the top 'thousand' (千) component.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

请你把这句话[___]说一遍。

Clue: chóng xīn

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the two readings and tones: using zhòng (Tone 4, heavy) when meaning 'to repeat' (chóng, Tone 2).

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see 重 pronounced as chóng, what does it mean?

Production: How do you write and pronounce the character meaning 'to repeat' or 'again'?

重chóngheavy, repeat, layer

Speed:

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