鼽 (qiú) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

鼽

qiú[qiu2]Tone 2

congested nose

Guru Deep Dive

English · congested nose

Cached lesson

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:16

Writing Balance Rule: The left side (the rat/nose radical 鼩 component source or nose signifier) and the right side (求) must be proportioned compactly so the character does not lean outward.

1. Meaning

congested nose

nasal congestionrhinitis

NounLiterary / MedicalBound morpheme#medicine#body parts#illness

Sample Usage

患鼽
huàn qiú
to suffer from nasal congestion
鼻鼽
bí qiú
rhinitis / stuffy nose

2. Sound

/[t͡ɕʰi̯ou̯³⁵]/Tone: 35

鼽

qiúqiu2

´(35)

=qiú

Build the syllable

Step-by-step blending

qiu

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

Initial Consonant

Type: Aspirated Alveolo-Palatal

Sounds like: ch sound like in 'cheese' (strongly aspirated)

Aspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Extremely strong burst of breath! Tissue held before mouth MUST fly.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Blade of the tongue touches the roof of the mouth just behind the alveolar ridge, releasing a burst of air.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -i vowel group

Sounds like: rhymes with 'ee-oh' or 'you'

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

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

Abbreviated Rhyme Rule: iu is short for -iou, with an internal 'o' glide.

Tone

T2 (35)

3 → 5 (35)

2nd Tone (Mid-Rising)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 2 rises from mid to high pitch, identical to asking a question in English like 'What?' or 'Really?'

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the aspirated palatal 'q' with the unaspirated 'j' (qiú vs jiú). Make sure to release a puff of air for 'q'.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A rising hand gesture starting from chest level and sweeping upward to the sky, mirroring the upward pitch of Tone 2.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 16 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left side (the rat/nose radical 鼩 component source or nose signifier) and the right side (求) must be proportioned compactly so the character does not lean outward.

4. Components

Radical 鼩 · Rat / Nose radical group (Related to rodents, nose conditions, or animal snout structures)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 鼻 (Indicates that this character relates to the nose.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 求 (original sound: qiú)

The nose radical (鼻 compressed or variant form) sits on the left side, indicating nasal affliction, while 求 (qiú) on the right provides the exact sound 'qiú'.

鼻 Nose (semantic context)
求 Qiú (phonetic clue)

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

14· Phonetic Root: 九 (jiǔ)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Combined from the nose-related classifier and the phonetic element 求 (qiú) to describe an obstructed or congested nose.

Semantic Evolution: Has consistently referred to nasal blockage and rhinitis-like conditions throughout classical and modern medical texts.

Frequently found in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) classics describing respiratory and nasal syndromes.

6. Sinosphere

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

You are pleading (求) because your NOSE (鼻 variant) is completely stuffed up with a severe congested nose (鼽)!

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

九

jiǔninePhonetic Core (声旁)

究

jiūto investigate+ 穴 (cave)

轨

guǐrail, track, course+ 车 (car)

仇

chóuvariant of 仇[chou2]+ 亻 (person)

Explore this family →

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

球(qiú)

球 has the jade/king radical (王) meaning a ball; 鼽 relates to the nose.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

感冒时常常会鼻[___]，呼吸很不通畅。

Clue: qiú

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the rare medical character 鼽 with the common character 球 (qiú) due to identical pronunciation.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see 鼽, what does it mean and how is it pronounced?

Production: How do you write the literary/medical term for a congested nose (qiú)?

鼽qiúcongested nose

Speed:

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