順 (shùn) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

順

shùn[shun4]Tone 4

to obey, smooth, favorable

HSK 2

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顺

Guru Deep Dive

English · to obey, smooth, favorable

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:9

Writing Balance Rule: The left component (川) is narrower and flows downward, while the right component (页) is wider and bears the heavy horizontal and dot strokes at the base.

1. Meaning

to obey or follow smoothly without resistance

along a course or directionto arrange or put in orderfavorable or smooth-running

Verb / AdjectiveNeutral#direction#compliance#process

Sample Usage

一路顺风
yī lù shùn fēng
Have a smooth journey (literally: follow the wind all the way)
顺便
shùn biàn
conveniently, along the way

2. Sound

/[ʂu̯ən⁵¹]/Tone: 51

順

shùnshun4

`(51)

=shùn

Initial Consonant

Type: Retroflex Fricative

Sounds like: sh sound with tongue curled back

UnaspiratedRetroflex

Airflow Tactile Test: Hollow wind sound through curled tongue channel.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip curled back near the hard palate without touching it

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -u vowel group

Sounds like: un rhymes with hoon

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

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

Abbreviated Rhyme Rule: un is a contracted spelling representing the -uen final

Tone

T4 (51)

5 → 1 (51)

4th Tone (High-Falling)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 4 falls from high to low, identical to a sharp English command like 'Stop!' or 'Go!'.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the retroflex initial 'sh-' with the alveolar 's-'. Ensure the tongue is curled back rather than flat against the teeth.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Tone 4 starts high and chops sharply downward, like nodding 'Yes!' with firm conviction.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 9 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left component (川) is narrower and flows downward, while the right component (页) is wider and bears the heavy horizontal and dot strokes at the base.

4. Components

Radical 页 · Page / Head Radical (head, page, leaf)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 页 (indicates head or direction)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 川 (original sound: chuān / shùn phonetic drift)

A flowing river (川) moving smoothly past a head or person (页), symbolizing following the natural current without resistance.

川 river, flowing stream
页 head, leaf

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

11· Phonetic Root: 川 (chuān)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally composed of the head symbol (页) and a flowing stream symbol (川), depicting a head turning or moving smoothly in alignment with a stream or direction.

Semantic Evolution: From moving along with a current to general meanings of compliance, smoothness, convenience, and obedience.

In classical texts, it frequently meant to submit or surrender willingly, like water flowing downhill.

6. Sinosphere

🇻🇳

Sino-Vietnamese

thuận

Mandarin Tone 4 (sharp falling) corresponds roughly to the Vietnamese nặng or sắc tone contour.

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: ジュン / Kun: したが.う

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

순

Sound Shift Bridge: Shared East Asian root vocabulary 'shùn / thuận / 순 / jun' representing smooth compliance.

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

Imagine floating down a flowing river (川) with your head (页) held high, going completely smooth and OBEYING the natural current.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

娟

juāngraceful, beautifulReplaces the head radical with the female radical (女).

捐

juānto donate, to contributeReplaces the head radical with the hand radical (扌).

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

须(xū)

须 means beard or must, whereas 顺 has the complete river and head components.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

祝你一路[___]風！

Clue: shùn

Common Learner Pitfall

Writing the left component (川) with incorrect stroke order or confusing it with similar phonetic radicals like 州.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What does 顺 mean when you see it in 顺利 (shùnlì - smooth/successful)?

Production: How do you write the character meaning 'to obey or smooth' pronounced shùn?

順shùnto obey, smooth, favorable

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