啞 meaning and stroke order
Dumb, mute, hoarse
How to write 啞, stroke by stroke
11 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
Meaning of 啞
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- mute; dumb; incapable of speech
- (of a voice) hoarse; husky
- (bound form) (of a bullet, bomb etc) dud
- (onom.) sound of cawing
- sound of infant learning to talk
- variant of 呀[ya1]
How 啞 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Mouth.
口 gives the meaning and 亞 hints at the sound.
Radical: 口 (mouth), shared by 428 characters on this site.
How to remember 啞
啞 is built from 口 (mouth) on the left, which gives the meaning, and 亞 (yà) on the right, which hints at the sound. Picture a mouth next to a closed, boxy shape: the mouth is shut in and no voice gets out.
啞 (yǎ) describes someone who cannot speak, a voice that has gone hoarse, or a bullet or bomb that fails to go off. It often appears in words like 哑巴 (yǎba, a mute) and 沙哑 (shāyǎ, hoarse). Example: 我嗓子哑了。(Wǒ sǎngzi yǎ le.) My voice has gone hoarse.
Common mistake: Learners often read the phonetic part 亞 and say yà, but 啞 is third tone yǎ. Also, do not confuse 哑 with 亚 (yà, second or Asia). The version with 口 on the left is the one about the voice.
Common words with 啞
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 啞巴 | yǎba | a mute; mute; silent | |
| 沙啞 | shāyǎ | hoarse; husky; raspy |
Questions about 啞
How many strokes are in 啞?
啞 is written with 11 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 啞 mean?
啞 (yǎ) means dumb, mute, hoarse. A common word with it is 哑巴 (yǎba), meaning "a mute; mute; silent".
How do you pronounce 啞?
啞 is pronounced yǎ, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 啞?
The radical of 啞 is 口, which carries the idea of "mouth". Dictionaries list 啞 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 啞?
啞 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 哑, used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is it polite to call someone 哑巴?
哑巴 (yǎba) can sound rude or insensitive when used about a real person, much like dumb in English. In respectful contexts people prefer phrases like 不能说话的人 (bù néng shuōhuà de rén) or terms about hearing and speech disabilities.
When is 啞 pronounced yā instead of yǎ?
The yā reading is for sounds, such as a crow cawing or a baby's babbling, as in 哑哑 (yāyā). It can also be a variant of 呀 (ya). In everyday words like 哑巴 and 沙哑, it is always yǎ.