Writing Balance Rule: The left side (zhuī bird) and right side (gōng) must be balanced in width. Keep the left radical compact and let the right component anchor the strong vertical stroke.
1. Meaning
male (of birds or animals), powerful, mighty
staminate (botany)grand and imposingperson or state having great power and influence (hero/champion)
Adjective / NounNeutral#biology#power#descriptors
Sample Usage
雄鹰
xióng yīng
mighty eagle
英雄
yīng xióng
hero
2. Sound
/[ɕi̯oŋ³⁵]/Tone: 35
雄
xióngxiong2
|
++
´(35)
=xióng
Initial Consonant
x
Type: Alveolo-Palatal Fricative
Sounds like: sh sound pronounced with the tongue blade near the lower teeth
Unaspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: Hissing friction with lips stretched wide in a smile.
Tongue & Mouth Position: Blade of tongue approaches the hard palate while tip rests behind lower front teeth, producing a soft unvoiced fricative.
Final Rhyme
iong
Vowel Group: -o vowel group
Sounds like: rhymes roughly with the 'yong' in 'yong-he' or 'ee-ong'
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'yoong'.
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 from mid-pitch to high pitch, exactly like asking 'Huh?' or 'What?' in English when you need clarification.
Sandhi: When followed by another Tone 2 syllable, the first Tone 2 shifts to a high rising pitch similar to a modified 35.
👂
Listening trap: Confusing the initial 'x-' with 'sh-', or mishearing the 'iong' ending as '-ang' or '-eng'.
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: A quick upward head nod or hand arc sweeping from chest level up to eye level, mirroring an inquiring 'Really?' in English.
3. Writing
Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 12 strokes
Writing Balance Rule: The left side (zhuī bird) and right side (gōng) must be balanced in width. Keep the left radical compact and let the right component anchor the strong vertical stroke.
4. Components
Radical隹 · Short-tailed bird radical (small bird)
Semantic Clue (形旁):隹 (indicates bird species or animal classification)
Phonetic Clue (声旁):厷 (original sound: gōng)
On the left is a short-tailed bird (隹 zhuī), and on the right is an arm/muscle component (厷 gōng), combining to portray a powerful bird with muscular might.
隹 short-tailed bird
厷 arm or bent limb
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
6· Phonetic Root: 厷 (gōng)
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)
Origin: Originally combined '隹' (bird) with '厷' (arm/strength), representing a strong, dominant bird or a mighty champion.
Semantic Evolution: Extended from referring to male animals/birds to signify general power, grandeur, and exceptional human heroes (英雄).
In ancient China, powerful feudal lords or regional hegemons were often called 雄諸侯.
6. Sinosphere
🇻🇳
Sino-Vietnamese
hùng
Corresponds to the Vietnamese ngang/huyền tone depending on dialect; shares the exact same Middle Chinese root.
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: ユウ (yū) / Kun: オス (osu)
🇰🇷
Hanja (Korean)
웅
Sound Shift Bridge: The historical initial group corresponds across East Asian borrowings (e.g., Japanese yū, Vietnamese hùng).
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story
A muscular arm (厷) holding up a majestic, powerful bird (隹) to crown it the ultimate champion and hero of the animal kingdom.
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
雄
xióngmale, powerfulBase character with bird and arm.
熊
xióngbearReplaces the bird component with fire dots (灬) at the bottom, signifying a heavy, powerful bear.
Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
熊(xióng)
雄 has 隹 (bird) on the left/right composition; 熊 has 灬 (fire/paws) at the bottom for a bear.
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge
他是一个真正的[___]。
Clue: yīng xióng
Common Learner Pitfall
Confusing the character structure with 熊 (bear) due to identical pinyin pronunciation.
Memory Prompts
Recognition: When you see 雄, what does it mean and how is it read?
Production: How do you write the character for 'male/powerful' (xióng)?
Real-World Video Context
Watch authentic native speakers pronounce and explain this word in real-world YouTube videos.
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雄xióngmale, powerful, mighty
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