female (of birds and animals)
feminineweak or gentle (literary)
adjective / nounNeutral#biology#gender#nature
Sample Usage
雌雄
cíxióng
male and female
雌鸟
cíniǎo
female bird
雌
cíci2
|++´(35)
=cí Tone mark placement: Tone mark sits on "i" per main-vowel priority (a > e > o; in -iu/-ui the mark takes the second vowel).
Type: Aspirated Dental Sibilant
Sounds like: ts sound with a strong puff of air
Airflow Tactile Test: Sharp burst of air through teeth! Tissue MUST flutter strongly.
Tongue & Mouth Position: Blade of tongue touches or is close to the upper teeth ridge, releasing a sharp affricate sound.
Vowel Group: -a vowel group
Sounds like: ee sound as in 'see'
Note: Written as 'i (-i*)', pronounced as rounded 'i' [y].
Mouth Shape Guide: Combine initial 'zh-' (jr) with final '-i' (rr/zz).
Common Learner Trap: Do NOT pronounce '-i' as 'ee' after zh-! Keep your tongue in the consonant position and buzz 'rr/zz'.
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 2 rises from a middle pitch to a high pitch, identical to the upward inflection when asking 'Huh?' or 'Really?' in English.
👂Listening trap: Confusing the initial 'c' (tsʰ) with 's' (s) or 'z' (ts). Remember 'c' always releases a strong puff of air.
👋Physical Tone Gesture: A rising hand gesture starting low and sweeping upward, matching the interrogative tone of 'What?' in English.
Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 14 strokes
Writing Balance Rule: Keep the left side (此) slightly narrower and compact, leaving ample breathing room for the right side (隹).
Radical 隹 · short-tailed bird radical (bird)
Semantic Clue (形旁): 隹 (indicates bird or animal category)
Phonetic Clue (声旁): 此 (original sound: ci)
The character combines '此' (this) on the left with '隹' (short-tailed bird) on the right, historically representing the female of bird species.
- 此 phonetic clue and left component
- 隹 semantic clue meaning bird
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)
Origin: Originally created to designate the female of birds and winged animals, pairing '此' for sound with '隹' representing a bird.
Semantic Evolution: Expanded from describing female birds to general biological female usage in compound words like 雌性 (female sex).
- Often paired with 雄 (xiong, male) to form 雌雄 (cíxióng), representing the contest between male and female forces in nature.
🇯🇵Kanji (Japanese)
On: シ / Kun: めす
Vivid Mnemonic Story
At THIS (此) exact moment, a mother BIRD (隹) is feeding her babies, proving she is the FEMALE (雌) of the flock.
此cǐthis; thesePhonetic Core (声旁)
柴cháiFirewood, lean, thin, or surname Chai+ 木 (tree)
Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
雄(xióng)
雄 means male, featuring a powerful box and bird component, whereas 雌 uses 此 on the left.
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge 这只大熊猫是[___]性还是雄性？
Clue: cí
Common Learner PitfallConfusing 雌 (female) with 雄 (male) due to their frequent pairing in compound words.
Memory Prompts
Recognition: When you see the character 雌, what biological category and rising pronunciation come to mind?
Production: How do you write the character for 'female' (cí) combining 'this' and 'bird'?
Speed: Searching YouTube for native pronunciation videos...