HSK 5 · Ideas

规矩 guīju “rules” in Chinese

Traditional 規矩

What 规矩 means

  1. rules
  2. customs
  3. well-behaved
  4. lit. compass and set square
  5. fig. established standard
More meanings from CC-CEDICT
  • rule
  • practices
  • fig. upright and honest

How to say 规矩

  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale规guī1st tone, high and level
  • Pitch chart of the neutral tone: short and light, with no contour of its own矩juneutral tone, light and short

Grey pinyin is a neutral tone: say it short and light. More on the neutral tone

规矩 in a sentence

  1. 他给自己定下每天早上散步的规矩。

    Tā gěi zìjǐ dìngxià měitiān zǎoshang sànbù de guīju.

    He makes it a rule to go for a walk every morning.

    Sentence #1394902 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 我有时候打破规矩。

    Wǒ yǒushíhou dǎpò guīju.

    I sometimes break the rules.

    Sentence #5862096 from Tatoeba

  3. 你去朋友家玩要守规矩，要听话。

    Nǐ qù péngyou jiā wán yào shǒu guīju, yào tīnghuà.

    When you go to play at a friend’s house, you need to behave and do as you’re told.

    Sentence #2047868 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

How 规矩 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 规 (guī) with each of its parts in a different colour
规guīcompass
  • 夫man · fūSound part
  • 见to see · jiànMeaning part

见 hints at the meaning (to see); 夫 (fū) hints at the sound. Compare it with guī.

The character 矩 (ju) with each of its parts in a different colour
矩jucarpenter’s square
  • 矢arrow · shǐMeaning part
  • 巨large · jùSound part

矢 hints at the meaning (arrow); 巨 (jù) hints at the sound. Compare it with ju.

How to write 规矩

规 8 strokes · 矩 9 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

规矩 (guīju) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 规矩 (guīju). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 规矩

Words with 规

规定guīdìng · to stipulate规则guīzé · rule规律guīlǜ · rule (e.g. of science)规模guīmó · scale正规zhèngguī · formal规划guīhuà · plan规章guīzhāng · rules规范guīfàn · standard规格guīgé · specifications

More words: Ideas & Concepts

概念gàiniàn · concept个人gèrén · individual个性gèxìng · individuality功能gōngnéng · function规律guīlǜ · rule (e.g. of science)规模guīmó · scale核心héxīn · core后果hòuguǒ · consequences

FAQs

规矩 (guīju) means “rules” or “customs”. It is an HSK 5 word.
Say it guīju: guī with a 1st tone, then ju with a neutral tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 规矩 is written 規矩. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type guiju with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 规矩 from the suggestions. Typing guiju into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
规矩 is an HSK 5 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.