麂 (jǐ) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

麂

jǐ[ji3]Tone 3

muntjac

Guru Deep Dive

English · muntjac

Cached lesson

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:13

Writing Balance Rule: The left side (鹿) is wider and spans more vertical space, while the right side (己) is compact and fits snugly into the right half.

1. Meaning

muntjac (a small deer native to Asia)

barking deer

NounFormal#animals#nature#mammals

Sample Usage

山里有一只麂。
shān lǐ yǒu yì zhī jǐ.
There is a muntjac in the mountains.
麂是一种小型鹿类。
jǐ shì yì zhǒng xiǎo xíng lù lèi.
The muntjac is a small species of deer.

2. Sound

/[t͡ɕi³⁵]/Tone: 35

麂

jǐji3

ˇ(214)

=jǐ

Build the syllable

Step-by-step blending

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

Initial Consonant

Type: Unaspirated Alveolo-Palatal

Sounds like: j sound as in 'jeans'

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: No air puff. Lips spread wide like smiling.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Blade of the tongue touches the hard palate, releasing gently with friction.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -i vowel group

Sounds like: ee sound as in 'see'

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

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

Tone

T3 (214)

2 → 1 → 4 (214)

3rd Tone (Low-Dipping)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 3 starts medium-low, dips slightly, then rises high, matching an incredulous English 'Really?'.

Sandhi: When followed by another 3rd tone, jǐ changes to a 2nd tone.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the 3rd tone (jǐ) with the 4th tone (jì), failing to make the pitch rise fully.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Start at a mid pitch and sweep your hand upward sharply to the sky, mirroring an inquisitive 'What?' tone.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 13 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left side (鹿) is wider and spans more vertical space, while the right side (己) is compact and fits snugly into the right half.

4. Components

Radical 鹿 · Deer Radical (Deer, large quadrupeds)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 鹿 (Indicates that the creature is a type of deer.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 己 (original sound: ji)

The deer (鹿) walks with its own (己) distinctive barking call and small antlers, creating the muntjac deer.

鹿 Deer radical, indicating animal category
己 Provides the phonetic pronunciation 'jǐ'

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

13· Phonetic Root: 几 (jī)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Combined the signific for deer (鹿) with the phonetic indicator (己) to denote a specific small Asian deer known for making dog-like barking sounds.

Semantic Evolution: Has consistently referred to the muntjac deer since ancient times.

Muntjacs are often called barking deer due to the alarm call they emit when startled.

6. Sinosphere

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

Imagine a tiny DEER (鹿) running SELF-consciously (己) through the forest because it keeps barking like a dog, which makes it a MUNTJAC (麂).

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

几

jīsmall tablePhonetic Core (声旁)

肌

jīmuscle+ ⺼ (meat)

铅

qiānold variant of 鉛|铅[qian1]+ 钅 (metal)

讥

jīto ridicule+ 讠 (speech)

Explore this family →

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

鹿(lù)

鹿 is the general deer; 麂 adds 己 on the right for the specific small muntjac deer.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

森林里有一种叫[___]的小型鹿类。

Clue: jǐ

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the writing of the complex deer radical (鹿) on the left with simpler animal radicals.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What animal does 麂 refer to, and what are its two components?

Production: How do you write the character for 'muntjac' (jǐ) combining deer and self?

麂jǐmuntjac

Speed:

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