劫 (jié) is a Chinese character meaning “to rob”. It is written from 去 (to go; to leave) and 力 (strength; power), side by side, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “to rob; to seize by force”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
去 + 力
Left–right structure
Structure from: hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph stroke inspection (7 = 去5 + 力2)
Memory aid
Someone tries to go (去), but force (力) blocks the way — that is 劫: taking by force.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 抢劫qiǎng jiéto rob; robbery劫 = jié
- 洗劫xǐ jiéto loot; to ransack劫 = jié
- 浩劫hào jiécatastrophe; great disaster劫 = jié
Go deeper
All readings
to rob
to rob; to plunder; to seize by force
用强力夺取；抢夺。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 抢劫qiǎng jiéto rob; robbery劫 = jié
- 洗劫xǐ jiéto loot; to ransack劫 = jié
- 浩劫hào jiécatastrophe; great disaster劫 = jié
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 劫 mean?
劫 (jié) means to rob; to plunder; to seize by force.
How do you pronounce 劫?
It is pronounced jié.
What parts is 劫 made of?
去 (to go; to leave) and 力 (strength; power), side by side. The recorded source is: hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph stroke inspection (7 = 去5 + 力2). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 劫 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 劫?
力. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 劫?
Common ones are 抢劫 and 洗劫. The reading of 劫 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.