HanziGuru.雾 · wù
雾
wù[wu4]Tone 4

fog

HSK 7
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霧
Guru Deep Dive

English · fog

Cached lesson
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Topology:Top-bottom
Strokes:13
Writing Balance Rule: The top rain radical (雨) should be written flat and wide across the top, while the bottom phonetic component (务) sits squarely underneath, maintaining stable horizontal alignment.
Simplification Logic: The traditional form (霧) uses 饝 elements inside the bottom portion, which was simplified to 务 in the modern standard character.
1. Meaning

fog

mistvapor
NounNeutral#weather#meteorology#nature
Sample Usage
  • 外面有很大的雾。
    Wàimiàn yǒu hěn dà de wù.
    There is a very heavy fog outside.
  • 晨雾在太阳出来后散开了。
    Chénwù zài tàiyáng chūlái hòu sàn kāi le.
    The morning mist cleared after the sun came out.
2. Sound
/[u˥˩]/Tone: 51
雾
wùwu4
++
`(51)
=wù
Build the syllable
Step-by-step blending
wu
Tone mark placement: Tone mark sits on "u" per main-vowel priority (a > e > o; in -iu/-ui the mark takes the second vowel).
Initial Consonant
w
Type: Glide (w)
Sounds like: Glide (w)
Unaspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: Round lips tightly before gliding into vowel.
Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue is neutral, lips are rounded for the back vowel 'u'.
Final Rhyme
u
Vowel Group: -u vowel group
Sounds like: rhymes with oo in boot
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'oo'.
Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.
Tone
T4 (51)
4th Tone (High-Falling)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 4 starts high and plunges straight down, just like expressing a firm command or saying 'No!' in English.
👂
Listening trap: Confusing it with Tone 1 (wū) or Tone 2 (wú) due to not dropping the pitch sharply enough at the end.
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: A sharp downward chopping hand gesture, matching the high-to-low dropping pitch of Tone 4.
3. Writing

Topology: Top-bottom · Strokes: 13 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The top rain radical (雨) should be written flat and wide across the top, while the bottom phonetic component (务) sits squarely underneath, maintaining stable horizontal alignment.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form (霧) uses 饝 elements inside the bottom portion, which was simplified to 务 in the modern standard character.

4. Components

Radical 雨 · Rain Radical (weather, falling water, precipitation)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 雨 (Indicates weather phenomena and moisture in the atmosphere)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 务 (original sound: wu)

Rain (雨) falling down mixed with affairs/business (务) creates a confusing, hazy atmosphere of thick fog (雾).

  • 雨 Top rain radical indicating weather
  • 务 Bottom component providing the phonetic sound 'wù'
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Combined from 雨 (rain) to signify precipitation/moisture and 务 as the phonetic sound indicator, capturing the meteorological phenomenon of low-hanging atmospheric vapor.

Semantic Evolution: Originally referred specifically to thick clouds touching the ground (fog); later generalized to any mist, vapor, or obscured visibility.

  • Ancient texts used fog imagery metaphorically to describe a state of mental confusion or lack of clarity.
6. Sinosphere
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: ム (mu) / Kun: きり (kiri)
🇰🇷
Hanja (Korean)
무
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story

Imagine looking out your window and seeing heavy **rain** (雨) pouring, but it is mixed with business matters (**务**), creating such a thick **fog** (雾) that you cannot see the street.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
务
wùaffair, business, matter, to be engaged in, to attend to, by all meansPhonetic Core (声旁)
務
+ 矛 (spear)
Explore this family →
Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
务(wù)
务 means 'affairs' and does not have the rain (雨) radical on top.
捂(wǔ)
捂 has the hand radical (扌) on the left, meaning to cover or wrap up with the hands.
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge
今天早上有很大的[___]，开车要小心。
Clue: wù
Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the tone and writing the character with the wrong top radical (such as writing snow 𩇰 or cloud 云 instead of rain 雨).

Memory Prompts
Recognition: What weather phenomenon does 雾 represent, and what are its two main components?
Production: How do you write the Chinese character for 'fog' (wù) using the rain radical and phonetic part?
Real-World Video Context

Watch authentic native speakers pronounce and explain this word in real-world YouTube videos.

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