骤 (zhòu) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

骤

zhòu[zhou4]Tone 4

sudden

HSK 7

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驟

Guru Deep Dive

English · sudden

Cached lesson

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:17

Writing Balance Rule: Keep the left component (马) compact and narrow to leave ample space for the complex right component (聚).

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 驟 uses 馬 on the left and 聚 on the right; the simplified form retains this exact left-right structure with standard component simplifications.

1. Meaning

sudden, unexpected, abrupt

suddenlygallop (ancient meaning)

Adjective / AdverbFormal / LiteraryBound morpheme#manner#speed#change

Sample Usage

天气骤变
tiān qì zhòu biàn
The weather changed suddenly.
骤然
zhòu rán
Suddenly, abruptly.

2. Sound

/[ʈʂoʊ̯⁵¹]/Tone: 51

骤

zhòuzhou4

`(51)

=zhòu

Build the syllable

Step-by-step blending

zhou

Tone mark placement: Tone mark sits on "o" per main-vowel priority (a > e > o; in -iu/-ui the mark takes the second vowel).

Initial Consonant

Type: Unaspirated Retroflex

Sounds like: j/dr retroflex sound

UnaspiratedRetroflex

Airflow Tactile Test: No burst of air. Tongue curled up. Tissue stays still.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip curled back near hard palate

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -o vowel group

Sounds like: -ou rhymes with oh

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

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

Tone

T4 (51)

5 → 1 (51)

4th Tone (High-Falling)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 4 starts high and plunges sharply downward like an emphatic command or a sudden exclamation of surprise.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the retroflex initial 'zh-' with the alveolar-palatal initial 'j-'. Ensure your tongue is curled backward for 'zh'.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A sharp, forceful downward chop with your hand, mirroring a sudden drop in pitch from high to low.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 17 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: Keep the left component (马) compact and narrow to leave ample space for the complex right component (聚).

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 驟 uses 馬 on the left and 聚 on the right; the simplified form retains this exact left-right structure with standard component simplifications.

4. Components

Radical 马 · Horse Radical (Horse)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 马 (Indicates speed, running, or horses galloping)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 聚 (original sound: jù / zhòu)

A horse (马) that gathers (聚) its energy to burst forth in a sudden gallop.

马 Horse / Speed
聚 Gather / Phonetic clue

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

4· Phonetic Root: 聚 (jù)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally combined the horse radical (马) representing swift movement with 聚 to denote horses galloping swiftly and abruptly.

Semantic Evolution: Shifted from the physical galloping of horses to any action that is fast, abrupt, or unexpected (sudden).

In classical literature, 骤 frequently described a horse galloping at full speed before expanding into general adverbs of suddenness.

6. Sinosphere

🇻🇳

Sino-Vietnamese

súy

High rising tone matching Middle Chinese entering tones.

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: シュウ (shū)

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

취

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

Picture a majestic horse (马) that suddenly gathers (聚) all its strength to bolt forward in a SUDDEN dash!

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

聚

jùto assemble; to gatherPhonetic Core (声旁)

鄹

zōuname of a state; surname Zou+ 阝 (city)

驟

+ 馬 (horse)

Explore this family →

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

聚(jù)

聚 means gather, while 骤 adds the horse (马) radical to signify a sudden, galloping movement.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

听到这个消息，他感到非常[___]惊。

Clue: zhòu

Common Learner Pitfall

Writing or confusing the right-side component with unrelated characters due to the high stroke count of 17 strokes.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What does the character 骤 mean when combined with 变 (change)?

Production: How do you write the character for 'sudden' (zhòu) featuring a horse on the left?

骤zhòusudden

Speed:

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