鼬 (yòu) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

鼬

yòu[you4]Tone 4

weasel

Guru Deep Dive

English · weasel

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:18

Writing Balance Rule: Keep the left radical (犭) compact and slightly narrower, leaving ample room for the complex right component (由) and its surrounding enclosure structure.

1. Meaning

weasel

stoatferret-like predatory mammal

NounNeutral#animals#zoology#nature

Sample Usage

黄鼠狼是一种鼬类动物。
huáng shǔ láng shì yì zhǒng yòu lèi dòng wù.
The Siberian weasel is a kind of mustelid animal.
那只鼬悄悄地钻进了草丛。
nà zhī yòu qiāo qiāo de zuān jìn le cǎo cóng.
That weasel quietly crept into the grass.

2. Sound

/[joʊ̯⁵¹]/Tone: 51

鼬

yòuyou4

`(51)

=yòu

Build the syllable

Step-by-step blending

you

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: Glide (y)

Sounds like: y as in yes

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Acts as a bridge into 'i' or 'ü' vowel sounds.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue body raises toward the hard palate for the glide 'y', then relaxes for the back vowel.

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 drops abruptly, like a sharp command or an emphatic 'No!' in English.

👂

Listening trap: Mistaking it for a first-tone or third-tone syllable because of the short vowel glide.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A swift, emphatic chopping motion downward from high in the air, matching the sharp downward pitch drop of Tone 4.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 18 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: Keep the left radical (犭) compact and slightly narrower, leaving ample room for the complex right component (由) and its surrounding enclosure structure.

4. Components

Radical 犭 · Dog Radical (Animals, quadrupeds, beasts)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 犭 (Indicates that the character refers to a furry mammal or beast.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 由 (original sound: yóu / yòu)

The dog/beast radical (犭) is placed on the left to classify it as a living animal, while the character for origin/cause (由) on the right provides the approximate sound yòu.

犭 animal classifier
由 phonetic and structural component

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

17· Phonetic Root: 由 (yóu)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Combined from the animal classifier (犭) and the phonetic component (由), classifying the fast, slender predatory mammal known for hunting rodents.

Semantic Evolution: Has consistently referred to weasels and related mustelids throughout Chinese history.

In Chinese folklore, weasels (specifically the Siberian weasel) are often regarded as mystical creatures capable of bringing fortune or mischief.

6. Sinosphere

🇻🇳

Sino-Vietnamese

dữu

Sắc tone corresponding to entering/falling patterns in historical strata.

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: ユウ (yū) / Kun: いたち (itachi)

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

유

Sound Shift Bridge: Maintains a glide initial y- across modern Sino-Xenic traditions where applicable.

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

A furry beast (犭) darts out from its hiding place, springing up from nowhere (由) like a lightning-fast weasel hunting mice.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

由

yóufrom, by, because of, viaPhonetic Core (声旁)

油

yóuoil+ 氵 (water)

邮

yóupost, mail+ 阝 (city)

抽

chōuto draw out, pull out, or whip+ 扌 (hand)

Explore this family →

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

由(yóu)

由 lacks the animal radical (犭) on the left and means 'reason' or 'from'.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

那只可爱的[___]在雪地里奔跑。

Clue: yòu

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the animal radical (犭) with other radicals like the water radical (氵) or hand radical (扌) when writing the character from memory.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What animal does the character 鼬 represent, and what is its phonetic component?

Production: How do you write the character for 'weasel' (yòu) using the animal radical and the phonetic component for 'yóu'?

鼬yòuweasel

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