己
usually supplies the sound (jǐ/qǐ/jì/pǐ) in the characters it joins · Kangxi radical 49
usually supplies the sound (jǐ/qǐ/jì/pǐ) in the characters it joins, and on its own writes the idea of "self, oneself"
The old graph is a short zigzag line, and what it drew is genuinely unclear — the most common guess is a length of cord or thread that has been bent back and forth, the kind used for tying and for keeping count. That reading fits its use in 纪, which is about sorting out threads and hence putting things in order, and in 记, marking something down. The modern shape keeps the zigzag: two turns of the line plus a tail that hooks up at the end, like a folded string. The "self" meaning and the use as the sixth heavenly stem are borrowings of the sound rather than anything visible in the picture, and in most of the characters here (屺, 杞, 芑, 圮, 起) 己 is doing no more than pointing at the pronunciation.
己 at a glance
- Meaning
- usually supplies the sound (jǐ/qǐ/jì/pǐ) in the characters it joins
- Strokes
- 3
- Characters
- 16
- Role
- Usually contributes sound
- Kangxi radical
- 49
Characters with 己 (12 of 16)
HSK 1 · 1
HSK 3 · 1
HSK 4 · 2
HSK 5 · 1
HSK 6 · 1
Frequently asked questions
What does the component 己 mean?
己 means "usually supplies the sound (jǐ/qǐ/jì/pǐ) in the characters it joins". In the characters that contain it, it usually contributes sound.
How many Chinese characters contain 己?
16 characters in this dictionary contain 己, including ones at HSK 1, HSK 3, HSK 4, HSK 5, HSK 6.
Is 己 a radical?
Yes — 己 is Kangxi radical 49, one of the 214 traditional indexing radicals used to organise Chinese dictionaries.
How many strokes does 己 have?
己 is written in 3 strokes.