魁 (kuí) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

魁

kuí[kui2]Tone 2

chief, head, outstanding, exceptional, stalwart

HSK 7

Guru Deep Dive

English · chief, head, outstanding, exceptional, stalwart

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:13

Writing Balance Rule: The left side (鬼) is wider and complex, while the right side (斗) is compact and vertically aligned. Give the left component breathing room so the character does not lean.

1. Meaning

chief, leader, or head of a group

outstanding or exceptional talentstalwart or towering person

Adjective / NounFormal / LiteraryBound morpheme#leadership#excellence#status

Sample Usage

犯罪魁祸首
fàn zuì kuí huò shǒu
arch-criminal, chief culprit
夺魁
duó kuí
to win first place, to capture the championship

2. Sound

/[kʰu̯eɪ̯³⁵]/Tone: 35

魁

kuíkui2

´(35)

=kuí

Build the syllable

Step-by-step blending

kui

Tone mark placement: Tone mark sits on "i" per the side-by-side rule (in -iu/-ui the mark takes the second vowel).

Initial Consonant

Type: Aspirated Velar

Sounds like: English k sound as in 'kite'

Aspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Strong gust of air from throat! Tissue held in front MUST fly forward.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Back of the tongue rises to contact the soft palate, then releases a burst of air.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -i vowel group

Sounds like: u + ei combined rhyme sounding like '-way'

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

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

Abbreviated Rhyme Rule: ui is short for uei

Tone

T2 (35)

3 → 5 (35)

2nd Tone (Mid-Rising)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 2 rises like a questioning intonation in English, e.g., 'Huh?'

👂

Listening trap: Do not confuse the initial 'k' with 'g' (which is unaspirated). Ensure a crisp burst of air accompanies the 'k'.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Tone 2 rises like asking a question with surprise: 'What?!' Use your hand to sweep upward from chest level to eye level.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 13 strokes

4. Components

Radical 鬼 · Ghost Radical (ghost, spirit, demon)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 鬼 (provides the general semantic domain or ancient cultural association)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 鬼 (original sound: gui / kui)

The character combines the 'ghost' radical (鬼) on the left with the 'dipper/measure' radical (斗) on the right. Metaphorically, a towering giant or chief ghost holding a measuring dipper.

鬼 ghost / spirit
斗 peck / measuring dipper

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

2· Phonetic Root: 魁 (kuí)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally composed of 鬼 (ghost/spirit) and 斗 (dipper), where 鬼 provided both sound and a sense of bigness or fearful respect, and 斗 indicated a measuring tool or a high position like the Big Dipper (北斗).

Semantic Evolution: Over time, it shifted from referring to great size or fearful stature to meaning 'chief', 'head', or 'outstanding individual' (such as standing out like the Big Dipper in the night sky).

Often used historically in compound terms like 魁首 (chief leader) or 夺魁 (winning top rank in imperial exams).

6. Sinosphere

🇻🇳

Sino-Vietnamese

khôi

Mandarin Tone 2 (rising) corresponds roughly to Vietnamese hỏi or ngang depending on historical register, here yielding khôi with level/rising nuance.

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: カイ

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

괴

Sound Shift Bridge: Mandarin initial 'k-' maps to Sino-Japanese 'k-' (kai) and Sino-Vietnamese 'kh-' (khôi).

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

A towering GIANT GHOST (鬼) standing proudly holding a MEASURING DIPPER (斗) is crowned as the CHIEF (魁) of the spirit realm because he is so OUTSTANDING.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

櫆

kuísee 櫆師|櫆师[kui2 shi1] Polaris, the north star+ 木 (tree)

Explore this family →

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

槐(huái)

槐 has the tree radical (木) on the left/right integration, referring to the pagoda tree, whereas 魁 has 斗 on the right.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

他在这次全国比赛中勇夺第___。

Clue: kuí

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the right-side component 斗 (dipper) with similar components like 士 or 土, leading to incorrect handwriting proportions.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see 魁, what does it mean when attached to 首 (魁首)?

Production: How do you write the character for 'chief/outstanding' (kuí) using the Ghost and Dipper radicals?

魁kuíchief, head, outstanding, exceptional, stalwart

Speed:

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