气
contributes the sense of air · Kangxi radical 84
contributes the sense of air, gas, vapor, and breath — and in modern words it names the chemical gases
The old graph was three flowing horizontal strokes, a picture of streaming air or thin clouds drifting in layers; you can still see them in the top and middle strokes of 气, with the bottom line curling up at the end like a wisp trailing off. Because breath and steam are air you can see, the same shape came to cover vapor and breathing, and it wraps around other elements in the modern gas names — 氢 hydrogen, 氧 oxygen, 氮 nitrogen — where the inner part supplies the sound. In a few characters like 饩 and 忾 it works only as a sound clue and carries no air meaning.
气 at a glance
- Meaning
- contributes the sense of air
- Strokes
- 4
- Characters
- 26
- Role
- Contributes meaning
- Kangxi radical
- 84
Characters with 气 (23 of 26)
HSK 2 · 1
HSK 5 · 1
Beyond HSK · 19
Frequently asked questions
What does the component 气 mean?
气 means "contributes the sense of air". In the characters that contain it, it contributes meaning.
How many Chinese characters contain 气?
26 characters in this dictionary contain 气, including ones at HSK 2, HSK 5, HSK 6.
Is 气 a radical?
Yes — 气 is Kangxi radical 84, one of the 214 traditional indexing radicals used to organise Chinese dictionaries.
How many strokes does 气 have?
气 is written in 4 strokes.