Common Polyphonic Characters (多音字)

Why one character can have several readings

A polyphonic character — 多音字 in Chinese — is a single written form with more than one spoken reading and, crucially, more than one meaning distributed across those readings. This is not a defect of the writing system or a residue of random historical accident, although history is part of it. In most cases the different readings encode a genuine grammatical or semantic distinction that Chinese marks in speech but not in writing: zhǎng and cháng are different words that happen to share the character 长, exactly as English "read" covers two different tenses without changing its spelling.

For a learner, polyphonic characters matter for two distinct reasons and it is worth separating them. The first is reading: coming across 行 in a text and not knowing whether it is xíng or háng makes the sentence opaque. The second is production: if you have memorised a character with one reading, you will pronounce it that way in every word, and mispronunciation in speech is harder to notice and harder to correct than a mistake made while reading. A third case is specific to anyone preparing materials: annotating a passage with the wrong reading teaches that wrong reading to whoever uses the sheet, which is why annotation tools flag uncertain readings instead of silently choosing.

This page collects the characters that actually cause trouble in practice, roughly in descending order of how often they appear in real texts. High-frequency function words come first, because a mistake there repeats in every paragraph. Below the themed groups there is a section on the strategies that decide a reading, which is the part to read if you only read one section.

Two related pages: the tone change rules explain readings that shift because of a neighbouring tone rather than because of meaning, and the 500 essential characters list gives the default reading for every character in the high-frequency bands, which is the reading to assume when the context gives you nothing to go on.

How to decide which reading applies

There is no single algorithm, and anyone who claims otherwise has not worked through enough real text. But five strategies between them resolve the great majority of cases, and they are worth applying in this order.

1. Decide by meaning first

The most reliable signal, and the one to reach for first, is meaning. In the overwhelming majority of polyphonic characters, each reading corresponds to a distinct sense that you can state in a few words, and the sense is determined by the word the character sits in. 长 is cháng when the sense is "long" (长短, length) and zhǎng when the sense is "to grow, to become senior" (长大, to grow up; 校长, headmaster). 数 is shù for the concept "number" and shǔ for the action "to count". Once you can name the sense, the reading follows. The practical consequence is that you should learn polyphonic characters through words, not characters: memorising 长 as "cháng/zhǎng" gives you nothing to act on, while memorising 长短, 长大, 校长, 长处 gives you four anchored examples and four chances to generalise.

2. Then check the part of speech

A large subset of the problem is a noun–verb split. 种 is zhǒng as a noun ("kind", 种类) and zhòng as a verb ("to plant", 种树). 处 is chù as a noun ("place", 住处) and chǔ as a verb ("to handle", 处理). 卷 is juǎn as a verb ("to roll") and juàn as a noun ("a volume, an exam paper"). 磨 is mó for the abstract action and mò for the concrete noun 磨盘, a millstone. When a character is ambiguous and you can identify the grammatical slot — is this the subject or the predicate? — the part-of-speech strategy often settles it instantly. It is listed second only because meaning is more often decisive and more often available.

3. Treat fixed compounds as vocabulary, not as rules

Some readings survive only inside a handful of fixed words, and no productive rule generates them. 提 is dī only in 提防 (to guard against) and 提溜; 似 is shì only in 似的; 佛 is fú only in 仿佛; 亲 is qìng only in 亲家; 色 is shǎi in practice only in 掉色 and 色子. Trying to derive a rule for these wastes time. Learn the word, note that the character has a second reading there, and move on. A useful heuristic: if a reading is listed in a dictionary but you have never met it in a word, it is a special case, and you will meet it as a word when you need it.

4. Separate the colloquial reading from the formal one

A recurring pattern is a formal or literary reading used in written compounds and a colloquial reading used in everyday speech, often with the same meaning. 血 is xuè in written compounds (血液, blood) and xiě in ordinary speech and as a standalone word (流血, to bleed). 熟 is shú in standard usage (熟悉, familiar) and shóu colloquially. 塞 is sāi in daily use, sè in literary compounds such as 堵塞, and sài for a military stronghold. The practical rule for a learner is to use the formal reading in writing and in any exam context, and to recognise the colloquial reading when you hear it. Do not assume that hearing xiě in conversation means xuè is wrong; they are both correct in their own registers.

5. Expect surnames and place names to break the rules

Chinese surnames are a closed set with their own readings that frequently contradict the everyday one, and place names preserve older pronunciations long after the general language has moved on. 单 is ordinarily dān (简单, simple) but shàn as a surname. 仇 is chóu (hatred) but qiú as a surname. 解 is jiě (to explain) but xiè as a surname. 查 is chá (to check) but zhā as a surname. 区 is qū (district) but ōu as a surname. 任 is rèn (task) but rén as a surname and in 任县. 秘 is mì (secret) but bì in 秘鲁, Peru. 燕 is yàn (a swallow) but yān in 燕京 and 燕山. 济 is jì (economy) but jǐ in 济南. Because these are unpredictable, treat them as a list to recognise rather than a system to apply, and check the reading before you say a person's name aloud or annotate a place name in a text you are preparing.

Where this leaves the learner

Notice that only the first two strategies are productive. Meaning and part of speech will carry you through ordinary reading, because in a real sentence the surrounding words supply exactly the information you need. The remaining three are about recognition rather than generation. That asymmetry explains why the most efficient way to handle polyphonic characters is not to memorise a table but to read a great deal with correct pinyin in front of you, so the right reading arrives with the context attached. When you are producing materials for other people, the same asymmetry becomes a risk: an incorrect annotation looks authoritative, which is why it is worth verifying readings rather than guessing.

High-frequency function words and grammatical particles

These characters appear in almost every paragraph of ordinary Chinese, and their readings are usually decided by grammatical role rather than by meaning in the dictionary sense. Learn these first; the payoff per minute of study is far higher than for any other group on this page.

• 的 — de (我的书 wǒ de shū, "my book") · dí (的确 díquè, "indeed") · dì (目的 mùdì, "purpose"). Decide by role: as a possessive or descriptive particle after a pronoun or adjective it is de; the noun 目的 and the adverb 的确 are the two ordinary places where the other readings appear.
• 了 — le (他走了 tā zǒu le, "he has left") · liǎo (了解 liǎojiě, "to understand"). Decide by role: as the aspect particle after a verb it is le; as a full verb meaning "to finish" or "to understand" it is liǎo.
• 着 — zhe (看着 kànzhe, "watching") · zháo (着火 zháohuǒ, "to catch fire") · zhuó (穿着 chuānzhuó, "attire") · zhāo (着数 zhāoshù, "a move"). Decide by role: the continuous-aspect particle is zhe; the sense "to touch, to succeed, to ignite" is zháo; zhuó is formal and appears in written compounds; zhāo is confined to a few set words such as 着数.
• 过 — guò (过去 guòqù, "the past"; 过马路 guò mǎlù, "to cross the road") · guo (吃过 chī guo, "have eaten"). Decide by position: after a verb marking experience it is neutral guo; as a verb meaning "to pass" or "to cross" it is full guò.
• 得 — dé (得到 dédào, "to obtain") · de (跑得快 pǎo de kuài, "runs fast") · děi (我得走了 wǒ děi zǒu le, "I must go"). Decide by role: the verb "to get" is dé; the complement marker between a verb and its result is de; the modal "must" is děi.
• 地 — dì (地方 dìfang, "place"; 土地 tǔdì, "land") · de (慢慢地走 mànmàn de zǒu, "to walk slowly"). Decide by role: as a noun it is dì; as the adverbial marker after an adjective it is de.
• 一 — yī (第一 dì yī, "first") · yí (一样 yíyàng, "the same") · yì (一起 yìqǐ, "together"). Decide by what follows: standing alone or as an ordinal it keeps first tone; before a fourth tone it becomes second; before first, second or third tone it becomes fourth.
• 不 — bù (不好 bù hǎo, "not good") · bú (不是 bú shì, "is not"). Decide by what follows: before a fourth tone it becomes second, otherwise it stays fourth.
• 和 — hé (和平 hépíng, "peace") · hè (附和 fùhè, "to echo") · huó (和面 huó miàn, "to knead dough") · huò (和药 huò yào, "to mix medicine") · hú (和牌 hú pái, "to win at mahjong"). Decide by domain: hé is the default; hè appears in 附和 and 唱和; the two huo readings belong to cooking and mixing; hú is gambling jargon.
• 还 — hái (还是 háishì, "still, or") · huán (还钱 huán qián, "to repay money"). Decide by role: the adverb "still, also" is hái; the verb "to return something" is huán.
• 都 — dōu (都是 dōu shì, "all are") · dū (首都 shǒudū, "capital city"). Decide by role: the adverb "all, both" is dōu; the noun meaning capital is dū.
• 只 — zhǐ (只有 zhǐyǒu, "only") · zhī (一只猫 yì zhī māo, "one cat"). Decide by role: as an adverb "only" it is zhǐ; as a measure word for animals and for one of a pair it is zhī.
• 会 — huì (会议 huìyì, "meeting"; 会说 huì shuō, "can speak") · kuài (会计 kuàijì, "accountant"). Decide by word: kuài survives essentially only in 会计 and a small accounting vocabulary.
• 中 — zhōng (中间 zhōngjiān, "middle"; 中国 Zhōngguó, "China") · zhòng (中奖 zhòngjiǎng, "to win a prize"). Decide by role: the locative and noun "middle" is zhōng; the verb "to hit the target" is zhòng.
• 为 — wéi (成为 chéngwéi, "to become") · wèi (为了 wèile, "for the sake of"). Decide by role: as a verb "to be, to act as" it is wéi; as a preposition "for, because of" it is wèi.
• 好 — hǎo (好人 hǎorén, "a good person") · hào (爱好 àihào, "hobby"; 好学 hàoxué, "fond of learning"). Decide by role: the adjective "good" is hǎo; the verb "to be fond of" is hào.
• 少 — shǎo (多少 duōshao, "how many") · shào (少年 shàonián, "youth"). Decide by sense: "few, little" is shǎo; "young" is shào.
• 便 — biàn (方便 fāngbiàn, "convenient") · pián (便宜 piányi, "cheap"). Decide by word: pián occurs in practice only in 便宜.
• 没 — méi (没有 méiyǒu, "not have") · mò (淹没 yānmò, "to submerge"). Decide by role: negation of 有 is méi; the verb "to sink, to drown" is mò.
• 上 — shàng (上面 shàngmiàn, "above") · shǎng (上声 shǎngshēng, "the third tone"). Decide by word: shǎng is limited to the tone name and a few classical uses.
• 什 — shén (什么 shénme, "what") · shí (什锦 shíjǐn, "assorted"). Decide by word: shí is confined to 什锦 and a couple of set phrases.
• 几 — jǐ (几个 jǐ ge, "several") · jī (几乎 jīhū, "almost"; 茶几 chájī, "tea table"). Decide by word: jī appears in a small closed set of words and nowhere else.
• 处 — chù (住处 zhùchù, "residence") · chǔ (处理 chǔlǐ, "to handle"; 相处 xiāngchǔ, "to get along"). Decide by role: the noun "place" is chù; the verb "to deal with" is chǔ.
• 系 — xì (关系 guānxì, "relationship"; 系统 xìtǒng, "system") · jì (系鞋带 jì xiédài, "to tie shoelaces"). Decide by role: the noun is xì; the verb "to tie, to fasten" is jì.
• 量 — liàng (质量 zhìliàng, "quality") · liáng (测量 cèliáng, "to measure"). Decide by role: the noun "amount, quantity" is liàng; the verb "to measure with an instrument" is liáng.
• 应 — yīng (应该 yīnggāi, "ought to") · yìng (反应 fǎnyìng, "reaction"; 答应 dāying, "to agree"). Decide by sense: "ought to, should" is yīng; "to respond, to answer" is yìng.
• 给 — gěi (给你 gěi nǐ, "for you") · jǐ (供给 gōngjǐ, "to supply"). Decide by register: the everyday verb and preposition "give, for" is gěi; the formal "supply, provide" is jǐ.
• 与 — yǔ (与朋友 yǔ péngyou, "with a friend") · yù (参与 cānyù, "to participate"). Decide by word: yù appears in 参与 and a small number of formal verbs.

Characters where the reading follows the meaning or the part of speech

This is the largest group and the one that matters most for reading. In every case, naming the sense or identifying the grammatical slot resolves the reading.

• 长 — cháng (长短 chángduǎn, "length"; 长处 chángchu, "a strong point") · zhǎng (长大 zhǎngdà, "to grow up"; 校长 xiàozhǎng, "head teacher"). Decide by sense: "long" is cháng; "to grow, to be senior" is zhǎng.
• 行 — xíng (旅行 lǚxíng, "to travel"; 不行 bù xíng, "not acceptable") · háng (银行 yínháng, "bank"; 行业 hángyè, "trade"). Decide by sense: "to go, to be acceptable" is xíng; "row, line of business" is háng.
• 重 — zhòng (重要 zhòngyào, "important"; 体重 tǐzhòng, "body weight") · chóng (重复 chóngfù, "to repeat"; 重新 chóngxīn, "anew"). Decide by sense: "heavy, weighty" is zhòng; "again, layered" is chóng.
• 数 — shù (数学 shùxué, "mathematics") · shǔ (数数 shǔ shù, "to count numbers") · shuò (数见不鲜 shuò jiàn bù xiān, "a common sight"). Decide by role: the noun "number" is shù; the verb "to count" is shǔ; shuò survives in one or two classical expressions.
• 教 — jiào (教育 jiàoyù, "education"; 教师 jiàoshī, "teacher") · jiāo (教书 jiāo shū, "to teach a class"). Decide by role: the institutional and noun-forming reading is jiào; the act of passing knowledge to someone is jiāo.
• 空 — kōng (天空 tiānkōng, "the sky"; 空气 kōngqì, "air") · kòng (有空 yǒu kòng, "to be free"; 空白 kòngbái, "blank space"). Decide by sense: "empty, air" is kōng; "a gap left free, spare time" is kòng.
• 干 — gān (干净 gānjìng, "clean"; 干燥 gānzào, "dry") · gàn (干活 gàn huó, "to work"; 干部 gànbù, "cadre"). Decide by sense: "dry" is gān; the verb "to do, to work" is gàn.
• 种 — zhǒng (种类 zhǒnglèi, "kind"; 种子 zhǒngzi, "seed") · zhòng (种树 zhòng shù, "to plant trees"). Decide by role: the noun is zhǒng; the verb "to plant" is zhòng.
• 分 — fēn (分开 fēnkāi, "to separate"; 分钟 fēnzhōng, "minute") · fèn (成分 chéngfèn, "ingredient"; 过分 guòfèn, "excessive"). Decide by role: the verb "to divide" and units of time and money are fēn; a noun meaning "share, portion" is fèn.
• 假 — jiǎ (假设 jiǎshè, "hypothesis"; 假的 jiǎ de, "fake") · jià (放假 fàngjià, "holiday"; 请假 qǐngjià, "to ask for leave"). Decide by sense: "false, supposed" is jiǎ; "leave, holiday" is jià.
• 间 — jiān (时间 shíjiān, "time"; 中间 zhōngjiān, "between") · jiàn (间隔 jiàngé, "interval"; 离间 líjiàn, "to sow discord"). Decide by role: the noun "space between" is jiān; jiàn is a verb and a small set of written compounds.
• 难 — nán (困难 kùnnan, "difficulty"; 难过 nánguò, "sad") · nàn (灾难 zāinàn, "disaster"; 难民 nànmín, "refugee"). Decide by role: the adjective "difficult" is nán; the noun "calamity" is nàn.
• 发 — fā (发现 fāxiàn, "to discover"; 出发 chūfā, "to set off") · fà (头发 tóufa, "hair"). Decide by sense: almost every meaning uses fā; fà is confined to hair.
• 更 — gèng (更加 gèngjiā, "even more") · gēng (更新 gēngxīn, "to update"; 更衣 gēngyī, "to change clothes"). Decide by role: the adverb "more" is gèng; the verb "to change, to replace" is gēng.
• 观 — guān (观看 guānkàn, "to watch"; 观点 guāndiǎn, "viewpoint") · guàn (道观 dàoguàn, "a Taoist temple"). Decide by role: the verb and abstract noun are guān; the concrete noun "temple" is guàn.
• 号 — hào (号码 hàomǎ, "number"; 五月一号 wǔ yuè yī hào, "May the first") · háo (号叫 háojiào, "to howl"). Decide by role: the noun is hào; the verb "to wail" is háo.
• 划 — huá (划船 huá chuán, "to row a boat"; 划火柴 huá huǒchái, "to strike a match") · huà (计划 jìhuà, "plan"). Decide by sense: physical action with an oar or a blade is huá; the abstract "to plan, to delimit" is huà.
• 尽 — jìn (尽力 jìn lì, "to do one's best"; 用尽 yòng jìn, "to use up") · jǐn (尽管 jǐnguǎn, "although"; 尽快 jǐnkuài, "as soon as possible"). Decide by word: jǐn is essentially limited to 尽管, 尽量 and 尽快.
• 落 — luò (落下 luòxià, "to fall"; 落后 luòhòu, "to fall behind") · là (落枕 làzhěn, "a stiff neck"; 落课 là kè, "to miss a class") · lào (落色 làoshǎi, "to fade"). Decide by register: luò is the standard reading; là and lào are colloquial and confined to a few everyday words.
• 模 — mó (模型 móxíng, "model"; 模仿 mófǎng, "to imitate") · mú (模样 múyàng, "appearance"; 模具 mújù, "a mould"). Decide by sense: "pattern, to imitate" is mó; a physical mould or someone's looks is mú.
• 宁 — níng (宁静 níngjìng, "tranquil") · nìng (宁可 nìngkě, "would rather"; 宁愿 nìngyuàn, "would rather"). Decide by role: the adjective "peaceful" is níng; the adverb "rather" is nìng.
• 曲 — qū (弯曲 wānqū, "to bend"; 曲折 qūzhé, "tortuous") · qǔ (歌曲 gēqǔ, "song"; 戏曲 xìqǔ, "traditional opera"). Decide by sense: "bent" is qū; "music, melody" is qǔ.
• 散 — sàn (散步 sànbù, "to take a walk"; 散会 sànhuì, "the meeting is over") · sǎn (散文 sǎnwén, "prose"; 松散 sōngsǎn, "loose"). Decide by role: the verb "to disperse" is sàn; the adjective "scattered, loose" is sǎn.
• 舍 — shě (舍不得 shěbudé, "reluctant to part with"; 舍弃 shěqì, "to abandon") · shè (宿舍 sùshè, "dormitory"). Decide by role: the verb "to give up" is shě; the noun "dwelling" is shè.
• 似 — sì (似乎 sìhū, "seemingly"; 相似 xiāngsì, "similar") · shì (似的 shìde, "as if"). Decide by word: shì occurs only in 似的.
• 弹 — tán (弹琴 tán qín, "to play an instrument"; 弹性 tánxìng, "elasticity") · dàn (子弹 zǐdàn, "bullet"; 炸弹 zhàdàn, "bomb"). Decide by role: the verb "to pluck, to spring" is tán; the noun "projectile" is dàn.
• 提 — tí (提高 tígāo, "to raise"; 提醒 tíxǐng, "to remind") · dī (提防 dīfang, "to guard against"). Decide by word: dī is confined to 提防 and 提溜.
• 吐 — tǔ (吐痰 tǔ tán, "to spit"; 吐字 tǔzì, "to enunciate") · tù (呕吐 ǒutù, "to vomit"). Decide by sense: deliberate spitting out is tǔ; involuntary throwing up is tù.
• 相 — xiāng (相信 xiāngxìn, "to believe"; 互相 hùxiāng, "each other") · xiàng (相貌 xiàngmào, "looks"; 照相 zhào xiàng, "to take a photo"). Decide by role: the adverb "mutually" is xiāng; the noun "appearance" and the verb in 照相 are xiàng.
• 血 — xuè (血液 xuèyè, "blood"; 血压 xuèyā, "blood pressure") · xiě (流血 liú xiě, "to bleed"). Decide by register: written compounds take xuè; ordinary speech takes xiě.
• 要 — yào (主要 zhǔyào, "main"; 我要去 wǒ yào qù, "I want to go") · yāo (要求 yāoqiú, "to demand"; 要挟 yāoxié, "to coerce"). Decide by word: yāo is confined to 要求 and 要挟.
• 乐 — lè (快乐 kuàilè, "happy") · yuè (音乐 yīnyuè, "music"; 乐器 yuèqì, "musical instrument"). Decide by sense: "happy" is lè; "music" is yuè.
• 占 — zhàn (占领 zhànlǐng, "to occupy"; 占用 zhànyòng, "to take up") · zhān (占卜 zhānbǔ, "divination"). Decide by word: zhān belongs only to the divination sense.
• 正 — zhèng (正确 zhèngquè, "correct"; 正在 zhèngzài, "in the process of") · zhēng (正月 zhēngyuè, "the first lunar month"). Decide by word: zhēng is limited to 正月.
• 转 — zhuǎn (转身 zhuǎn shēn, "to turn around"; 转变 zhuǎnbiàn, "to transform") · zhuàn (转动 zhuàndòng, "to rotate"; 转圈 zhuàn quān, "to go round in circles"). Decide by sense: a change of direction or state is zhuǎn; spinning around an axis is zhuàn.
• 朝 — cháo (朝代 cháodài, "dynasty"; 朝前走 cháo qián zǒu, "walk forward") · zhāo (朝阳 zhāoyáng, "the morning sun"; 朝气 zhāoqì, "vigour"). Decide by sense: "dynasty, facing towards" is cháo; "morning" is zhāo.
• 乘 — chéng (乘车 chéng chē, "to take a vehicle"; 乘法 chéngfǎ, "multiplication") · shèng (千乘之国 qiān shèng zhī guó, a classical phrase). Decide by word: shèng is classical and almost never needed in modern text.
• 缝 — féng (缝纫 féngrèn, "sewing"; 缝衣服 féng yīfu, "to sew clothes") · fèng (缝隙 fèngxì, "a crack"; 门缝 ménfèng, "a gap in a door"). Decide by role: the verb "to sew" is féng; the noun "seam, gap" is fèng.
• 佛 — fó (佛教 Fójiào, "Buddhism"; 佛像 fóxiàng, "a Buddha statue") · fú (仿佛 fǎngfú, "as if"). Decide by word: fú survives only in 仿佛.
• 喝 — hē (喝水 hē shuǐ, "to drink water") · hè (喝彩 hècǎi, "to cheer"; 吆喝 yāohe, "to hawk goods"). Decide by word: hè is confined to 喝彩 and 吆喝.
• 混 — hùn (混乱 hùnluàn, "disorder"; 混合 hùnhé, "to mix") · hún (混水 hún shuǐ, "murky water"). Decide by sense: the "muddy, turbid" sense is hún; almost all modern usage is hùn.
• 将 — jiāng (将来 jiānglái, "the future"; 将要 jiāngyào, "about to") · jiàng (将军 jiàngjūn, "general"). Decide by role: the auxiliary "will, about to" is jiāng; the military noun "general" is jiàng.
• 降 — jiàng (下降 xiàjiàng, "to descend"; 降低 jiàngdī, "to lower") · xiáng (投降 tóuxiáng, "to surrender"; 降服 xiángfú, "to subdue"). Decide by sense: "to go down" is jiàng; "to yield, to subdue" is xiáng.
• 校 — xiào (学校 xuéxiào, "school"; 校长 xiàozhǎng, "head teacher") · jiào (校对 jiàoduì, "to proofread"; 校正 jiàozhèng, "to correct"). Decide by role: the noun "school" is xiào; the verb "to check, to proofread" is jiào.
• 卷 — juǎn (卷起 juǎn qǐ, "to roll up"; 卷发 juǎnfà, "curly hair") · juàn (试卷 shìjuàn, "exam paper"; 第一卷 dì yī juàn, "volume one"). Decide by role: the verb "to roll" is juǎn; the noun "volume, paper" is juàn.
• 壳 — ké (贝壳 bèiké, "seashell"; 鸡蛋壳 jīdàn ké, "eggshell") · qiào (地壳 dìqiào, "the earth's crust"; 甲壳 jiǎqiào, "carapace"). Decide by register: everyday objects take ké; scientific and formal usage takes qiào.
• 累 — lèi (累了 lèi le, "tired"; 劳累 láolèi, "exhausted") · lěi (积累 jīlěi, "to accumulate"; 累计 lěijì, "cumulative") · léi (累赘 léizhui, "a burden"). Decide by word: léi is confined to 累赘; lěi belongs to accumulation; the everyday "tired" is lèi.
• 率 — lǜ (效率 xiàolǜ, "efficiency"; 频率 pínlǜ, "frequency") · shuài (率领 shuàilǐng, "to lead"; 轻率 qīngshuài, "rash"). Decide by role: the noun "rate" is lǜ; the verb "to lead" and the adjective "rash" are shuài.
• 埋 — mái (埋藏 máicáng, "to bury"; 埋伏 máifú, "an ambush") · mán (埋怨 mányuàn, "to complain"). Decide by word: mán occurs only in 埋怨.
• 秘 — mì (秘密 mìmì, "secret"; 秘书 mìshū, "secretary") · bì (秘鲁 Bìlǔ, "Peru"). Decide by word: bì appears only in a few transliterated names.
• 磨 — mó (磨练 móliàn, "to temper oneself"; 摩擦 mócā, "friction") · mò (磨盘 mòpán, "millstone"; 磨面 mò miàn, "to mill flour"). Decide by sense: rubbing or figurative polishing is mó; grinding grain in a mill is mò.
• 铺 — pū (铺路 pū lù, "to pave a road"; 铺床 pū chuáng, "to make a bed") · pù (店铺 diànpù, "shop"; 床铺 chuángpù, "a bunk"). Decide by role: the verb "to spread, to lay" is pū; the noun "shop, bed" is pù.
• 奇 — qí (奇怪 qíguài, "strange"; 奇迹 qíjì, "miracle") · jī (奇数 jīshù, "odd number"). Decide by sense: jī belongs only to the mathematical "odd" meaning.
• 切 — qiē (切菜 qiē cài, "to chop vegetables"; 切开 qiēkāi, "to cut open") · qiè (一切 yíqiè, "everything"; 亲切 qīnqiè, "cordial"). Decide by sense: physical cutting is qiē; "all, urgent, close" is qiè.
• 亲 — qīn (亲人 qīnrén, "a family member"; 亲戚 qīnqi, "relatives") · qìng (亲家 qìngjia, "the parents of one's child's spouse"). Decide by word: qìng occurs only in 亲家.
• 圈 — quān (圆圈 yuánquān, "a circle"; 圈子 quānzi, "a social circle") · juàn (猪圈 zhūjuàn, "a pigsty"). Decide by sense: juàn is used only for animal pens.
• 塞 — sāi (塞子 sāizi, "a stopper"; 塞住 sāizhù, "to plug") · sè (堵塞 dǔsè, "to block up"; 闭塞 bìsè, "isolated") · sài (要塞 yàosài, "a fortress"; 塞外 Sàiwài, "beyond the frontier"). Decide by register: everyday stuffing is sāi; written compounds take sè; a military frontier post is sài.
• 扫 — sǎo (扫地 sǎo dì, "to sweep the floor"; 扫描 sǎomiáo, "to scan") · sào (扫帚 sàozhou, "a broom"). Decide by word: sào occurs only in 扫帚.
• 色 — sè (颜色 yánsè, "colour"; 景色 jǐngsè, "scenery") · shǎi (掉色 diào shǎi, "to fade"; 色子 shǎizi, "dice"). Decide by register: shǎi is colloquial and confined to a handful of words.
• 省 — shěng (省份 shěngfèn, "province"; 省钱 shěng qián, "to save money") · xǐng (反省 fǎnxǐng, "to reflect on oneself"; 省亲 xǐngqīn, "to visit one's parents"). Decide by sense: xǐng belongs to self-examination and visiting.
• 识 — shí (认识 rènshi, "to know"; 知识 zhīshi, "knowledge") · zhì (标识 biāozhì, "a marking"; 博闻强识 bó wén qiáng zhì, "widely learned"). Decide by register: zhì is literary; in modern text 识 is nearly always shí.
• 属 — shǔ (属于 shǔyú, "to belong to"; 金属 jīnshǔ, "metal") · zhǔ (属望 zhǔwàng, "to place hopes on"). Decide by word: zhǔ is classical and rare.
• 挑 — tiāo (挑选 tiāoxuǎn, "to select"; 挑水 tiāo shuǐ, "to carry water on a pole") · tiǎo (挑战 tiǎozhàn, "to challenge"; 挑灯 tiǎo dēng, "to trim a lamp wick"). Decide by sense: choosing or carrying on a shoulder pole is tiāo; poking or lifting with a stick is tiǎo.
• 帖 — tiē (妥帖 tuǒtiē, "appropriate"; 服帖 fútiē, "docile") · tiě (请帖 qǐngtiě, "an invitation card") · tiè (字帖 zìtiè, "a calligraphy copybook"). Decide by word: tiè belongs only to the calligraphy model; tiě to invitations.
• 同 — tóng (同学 tóngxué, "classmate"; 相同 xiāngtóng, "identical") · tòng (胡同 hútòng, "an alley"). Decide by word: tòng occurs only in 胡同.
• 头 — tóu (头发 tóufa, "hair"; 头脑 tóunǎo, "brains") · tou (木头 mùtou, "wood"; 石头 shítou, "stone"). Decide by role: as a noun it is tóu; as a suffix attached to a stem it goes neutral.
• 瓦 — wǎ (瓦片 wǎpiàn, "roof tile"; 瓦房 wǎfáng, "a tiled house") · wà (瓦刀 wàdāo, "a mason's trowel"). Decide by role: the noun is wǎ; the verb "to tile" is wà.
• 尾 — wěi (尾巴 wěiba, "tail"; 结尾 jiéwěi, "ending") · yǐ (马尾儿 mǎyǐr, "horsehair"). Decide by word: yǐ survives only in 马尾儿.
• 吓 — xià (吓人 xià rén, "frightening"; 吓一跳 xià yí tiào, "to get a fright") · hè (恐吓 kǒnghè, "to threaten"; 恫吓 dònghè, "to intimidate"). Decide by register: the everyday "to frighten" is xià; hè appears in formal threatening verbs.
• 鲜 — xiān (新鲜 xīnxiān, "fresh"; 鲜花 xiānhuā, "fresh flowers") · xiǎn (鲜见 xiǎnjiàn, "rarely seen"; 鲜有 xiǎnyǒu, "seldom has"). Decide by sense: "fresh, bright" is xiān; "rare" is xiǎn.
• 削 — xuē (削减 xuējiǎn, "to cut down"; 削弱 xuēruò, "to weaken") · xiāo (削铅笔 xiāo qiānbǐ, "to sharpen a pencil"; 削苹果 xiāo píngguǒ, "to peel an apple"). Decide by sense: abstract reductions use xuē; physical whittling uses xiāo.
• 寻 — xún (寻找 xúnzhǎo, "to look for"; 寻求 xúnqiú, "to seek") · xín (寻思 xínsi, "to ponder"). Decide by word: xín is colloquial and mostly northern.
• 涨 — zhǎng (涨价 zhǎng jià, "prices rise"; 上涨 shàngzhǎng, "to rise") · zhàng (涨红 zhàng hóng, "to flush red"; 头昏脑涨 tóu hūn nǎo zhàng, "light-headed"). Decide by sense: increases in price or level are zhǎng; swelling or flushing is zhàng.
• 轴 — zhóu (车轴 chēzhóu, "axle"; 轴承 zhóuchéng, "a bearing") · zhòu (大轴 zi dàzhòu, the closing act of an opera). Decide by word: zhòu belongs only to traditional opera.
• 著 — zhù (著名 zhùmíng, "famous"; 著作 zhùzuò, "a work") · zhuó (著地 zhuó dì, "to touch the ground"). Decide by word: modern usage is almost entirely zhù.
• 幢 — zhuàng (一幢楼 yí zhuàng lóu, "one building") · chuáng (经幢 jīngchuáng, "a stone pillar inscribed with sutras"). Decide by word: chuáng is confined to the architectural term.
• 仔 — zǐ (仔细 zǐxì, "careful") · zǎi (牛仔 niúzǎi, "cowboy"; 仔猪 zǎizhū, "a piglet") · zī (仔肩 zījiān, "a burden", classical). Decide by word: zǎi is confined to a few nouns; zī is literary.
• 脏 — zāng (脏话 zānghuà, "dirty words"; 弄脏 nòng zāng, "to soil") · zàng (心脏 xīnzàng, "heart"; 内脏 nèizàng, "internal organs"). Decide by sense: "dirty" is zāng; "internal organ" is zàng.
• 称 — chēng (称呼 chēnghu, "to address"; 名称 míngchēng, "a name") · chèn (对称 duìchèn, "symmetrical"; 称心 chènxīn, "satisfactory"). Decide by sense: "to call, to weigh" is chēng; "to match, to fit" is chèn.
• 供 — gōng (供给 gōngjǐ, "to supply"; 提供 tígōng, "to provide") · gòng (供品 gòngpǐn, "offerings"; 口供 kǒugòng, "a confession"). Decide by sense: "to supply" is gōng; "to offer to a deity or a court" is gòng.
• 盛 — shèng (盛开 shèngkāi, "to bloom fully"; 茂盛 màoshèng, "luxuriant") · chéng (盛饭 chéng fàn, "to serve rice"; 盛汤 chéng tāng, "to ladle soup"). Decide by role: the adjective "flourishing" is shèng; the verb "to fill a container" is chéng.
• 背 — bèi (背后 bèihòu, "behind"; 背诵 bèisòng, "to recite") · bēi (背包 bēibāo, "a backpack"; 背包袱 bēi bāofu, "to carry a burden"). Decide by role: the noun "back" and "to recite" are bèi; the verb "to carry on the back" is bēi.
• 藏 — cáng (藏书 cáng shū, "to collect books"; 躲藏 duǒcáng, "to hide") · zàng (西藏 Xīzàng, "Tibet"; 宝藏 bǎozàng, "a treasure trove"). Decide by word: zàng belongs to Tibetan-related names and the "store" nouns.
• 冲 — chōng (冲水 chōng shuǐ, "to rinse"; 冲走 chōng zǒu, "to wash away") · chòng (冲床 chòngchuáng, "a punch press"). Decide by word: chòng is technical and confined to machinery and a few northern expressions.
• 当 — dāng (当然 dāngrán, "of course"; 当时 dāngshí, "at that time") · dàng (上当 shàngdàng, "to be taken in"; 当做 dàngzuò, "to treat as"). Decide by sense: "to serve as, at the time" is dāng; "to regard as, to be fooled" is dàng.
• 倒 — dǎo (倒下 dǎoxià, "to fall down"; 倒闭 dǎobì, "to go bankrupt") · dào (倒水 dào shuǐ, "to pour water"; 倒是 dàoshi, "on the contrary"). Decide by sense: "to fall" is dǎo; "to pour, to invert" is dào.
• 调 — diào (调查 diàochá, "to investigate"; 声调 shēngdiào, "tone") · tiáo (调整 tiáozhěng, "to adjust"; 调味 tiáo wèi, "to season"). Decide by sense: transfer, tone and investigation are diào; blending and adjusting are tiáo.
• 斗 — dòu (斗争 dòuzhēng, "to struggle"; 战斗 zhàndòu, "combat") · dǒu (北斗 Běidǒu, "the Big Dipper"; 斗室 dǒushì, "a tiny room"). Decide by role: the verb "to fight" is dòu; the noun for a measuring vessel and its derived uses is dǒu.
• 差 — chà (差不多 chàbuduō, "almost"; 差劲 chàjìn, "poor") · chā (差别 chābié, "difference"; 差距 chājù, "a gap") · chāi (出差 chūchāi, "a business trip") · cī (参差 cēncī, "uneven"). Decide by word: chāi belongs to assignments and errands; cī occurs only in 参差.
• 传 — chuán (传说 chuánshuō, "legend"; 传播 chuánbō, "to spread") · zhuàn (传记 zhuànjì, "biography"; 自传 zìzhuàn, "autobiography"). Decide by role: the verb "to pass on" is chuán; the noun for a written life is zhuàn.
• 兴 — xīng (兴奋 xīngfèn, "excited"; 兴起 xīngqǐ, "to spring up") · xìng (高兴 gāoxìng, "happy"; 兴趣 xìngqù, "interest"). Decide by role: the verb "to rise, to start" is xīng; the noun "mood, interest" is xìng.
• 载 — zǎi (记载 jìzǎi, "to record in writing"; 转载 zhuǎnzǎi, "to reprint") · zài (载重 zàizhòng, "load capacity"; 装载 zhuāngzài, "to load"). Decide by sense: recording something in writing is zǎi; carrying a load is zài.
• 角 — jiǎo (角落 jiǎoluò, "a corner"; 角度 jiǎodù, "angle") · jué (角色 juésè, "a role"; 主角 zhǔjué, "the protagonist"). Decide by sense: geometry and physical corners are jiǎo; drama and competition are jué.
• 结 — jié (结束 jiéshù, "to end"; 结构 jiégòu, "structure") · jiē (结实 jiēshi, "sturdy"; 结果子 jiē guǒzi, "to bear fruit"). Decide by sense: abstract "to conclude, to tie" is jié; the concrete "to bear fruit, to form a knot" in speech is jiē.
• 强 — qiáng (强大 qiángdà, "powerful"; 加强 jiāqiáng, "to strengthen") · qiǎng (勉强 miǎnqiǎng, "reluctant"; 强迫 qiǎngpò, "to force") · jiàng (倔强 juéjiàng, "stubborn"). Decide by word: jiàng appears only in 倔强; qiǎng in coercion and reluctance.
• 扎 — zhā (扎针 zhā zhēn, "to give an injection"; 扎进 zhā jìn, "to pierce into") · zhá (挣扎 zhēngzhá, "to struggle") · zā (包扎 bāozā, "to bind up"; 一扎啤酒 yì zā píjiǔ, "a draught of beer"). Decide by word: zā belongs to binding; zhá occurs only in 挣扎.
• 折 — zhé (折断 zhéduàn, "to break in two"; 打折 dǎ zhé, "to give a discount") · shé (折本 shé běn, "to lose money"; 折了 shé le, "snapped") · zhē (折腾 zhēteng, "to toss about"). Decide by register: zhé is standard; shé is colloquial for an accidental break or a loss; zhē is confined to 折腾.
• 咽 — yàn (咽下 yàn xià, "to swallow"; 狼吞虎咽 láng tūn hǔ yàn, "to wolf down") · yān (咽喉 yānhóu, "the throat") · yè (呜咽 wūyè, "to sob"). Decide by role: the verb "to swallow" is yàn; the anatomical noun is yān; yè occurs only in 呜咽.

Surnames and place names: the readings that break the rules

These are the cases where the ordinary reading is simply wrong when a name is involved. There is no way to derive them; they have to be recognised. Anyone preparing annotated reading material for other people should check names specifically, because a misread surname is immediately noticeable to a native reader and undermines the whole document.

• 单 — dān (简单 jiǎndān, "simple"; 单独 dāndú, "alone") · shàn (单老师 Shàn lǎoshī, "Mr/Ms Shan") · chán (单于 chányú, a classical title of Xiongnu rulers). Decide by context: the ordinary word is dān; as a surname it is shàn; chán belongs to one historical title.
• 仇 — chóu (仇恨 chóuhèn, "hatred"; 报仇 bàochóu, "to take revenge") · qiú (仇先生 Qiú xiānsheng, "Mr Qiu"). Decide by context: the common noun is chóu; the surname is qiú.
• 解 — jiě (解释 jiěshì, "to explain"; 了解 liǎojiě, "to understand") · jiè (解送 jièsòng, "to escort under guard") · xiè (解 Xiè, a surname; 解县 Xiè Xiàn). Decide by context: jiě is the everyday reading; xiè appears only in the name.
• 查 — chá (检查 jiǎnchá, "to inspect"; 调查 diàochá, "to investigate") · zhā (查 Zhā, a surname). Decide by context: as a verb it is chá; as a surname it is zhā.
• 区 — qū (地区 dìqū, "region"; 区别 qūbié, "difference") · ōu (区 Ōu, a surname). Decide by context: the common noun is qū; the surname is ōu.
• 华 — huá (中华 Zhōnghuá, "China"; 豪华 háohuá, "luxurious") · huà (华山 Huà Shān, a mountain; 华 Huà, a surname). Decide by context: the general adjective and the name for China are huá; the mountain and the surname are huà.
• 曾 — céng (曾经 céngjīng, "once, formerly") · zēng (曾 Zēng, a surname; 曾孙 zēngsūn, "great-grandson"). Decide by context: the adverb "once" is céng; the surname and the kinship term are zēng.
• 任 — rèn (任务 rènwu, "task"; 担任 dānrèn, "to hold a post") · rén (任 Rén, a surname; 任县 Rén Xiàn). Decide by context: the ordinary word is rèn; the surname and one county name take rén.
• 朴 — pǔ (朴素 pǔsù, "simple, unadorned") · piáo (朴 Piáo, a Korean surname) · pò (朴树 pòshù, "hackberry tree"). Decide by context: the adjective is pǔ; a Korean surname is piáo.
• 台 — tái (台湾 Táiwān; 讲台 jiǎngtái, "a podium") · tāi (台州 Tāizhōu, a city in Zhejiang; 天台 Tiāntāi). Decide by context: tāi is confined to a small number of place names.
• 济 — jì (经济 jīngjì, "economy"; 救济 jiùjì, "relief") · jǐ (济南 Jǐnán, a city; 济济 jǐjǐ, "numerous"). Decide by context: the general word is jì; the city name and the classical 济济 take jǐ.
• 燕 — yàn (燕子 yànzi, "a swallow") · yān (燕京 Yānjīng, an old name for Beijing; 燕山 Yān Shān). Decide by context: the bird is yàn; historical northern place names are yān.
• 藏 — cáng (收藏 shōucáng, "to collect"; 隐藏 yǐncáng, "to conceal") · zàng (西藏 Xīzàng, "Tibet"; 藏族 Zàngzú, the Tibetan ethnic group; 宝藏 bǎozàng, "treasure"). Decide by context: the verb "to hide" is cáng; anything Tibetan, and the noun "a store of treasure", is zàng.
• 秘 — mì (秘方 mìfāng, "a secret recipe") · bì (秘鲁 Bìlǔ, "Peru"). Decide by context: bì is a transliteration artefact and appears in only a few country names.
• 重 — zhòng (重要 zhòngyào, "important") · chóng (重庆 Chóngqìng, a municipality; 重复 chóngfù, "to repeat"). Decide by context: the city name uses chóng, chosen to suggest "double celebration", against the usual zhòng of the character in ordinary words.

Working with polyphonic characters in real texts

The practical problem with polyphonic characters is not that they are hard to learn in isolation; it is that they are invisible until they cause a mistake. A reader who has internalised the wrong reading for 行 will read 银行 as yín xíng without hesitation and without any sense that something is wrong. The same applies in reverse to anyone producing study materials: an annotated passage in which 着 has been given the wrong reading looks entirely normal on the page, and the error propagates to every learner who uses the sheet.

Two habits prevent most of this. The first is to learn new vocabulary in whole words rather than characters, so that the reading is stored together with the context that determines it. The second is to verify uncertain readings rather than guess. This is where the online pinyin tool is useful: paste a passage and it returns the text with pinyin above every character, and — this is the important part — characters with more than one reading are flagged rather than silently resolved, so you can select the correct one from the list. Because the tool marks the dictionary reading and lets you choose, it behaves like a careful reference rather than an oracle, which is the right model for polyphonic characters.

When annotating for other people, a useful discipline is to check the readings of every polyphonic character in the passage before exporting, with particular attention to surnames and place names, since those follow the rules least predictably. For the frequency-ordered list of characters with their default readings — the reading to assume when nothing in the context points elsewhere — continue to 500 essential characters. For sounds that shift because of a neighbouring tone rather than because of meaning, see tone change rules; if the difficulty is not choosing a reading but producing the contrast at all — the retroflex series, the nasal finals, ü after j, q, x — that is covered in commonly mispronounced sounds. The sound inventory itself is laid out in the pinyin chart, and the rest of the series is indexed in the Tutorials. To apply all of this directly, paste a passage into the online pinyin tool: it annotates every character with its reading and flags the polyphonic ones so you can pick the correct reading for the sentence, which is exactly the step at which the wrong choice would otherwise slip through unnoticed.