即 (jí) is a Chinese character meaning “immediately”. It is written from 皀 (food heaped in a serving vessel; inside 即 and 既 it is written in a reduced five-stroke form) and 卩 (kneeling person; seal (tally)), side by side, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “immediately; at once”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
皀 + 卩
Left–right structure
- 皀 food heaped in a serving vessel; inside 即, 既 and 卿 it is written in a reduced five-stroke form unknown
- 卩 kneeling person; seal (tally) · jié unknown
Structure from: hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph stroke inspection (左半五笔 皀 的简省形 + 右半两笔 卩)
Memory aid
The kneeling figure 卩 has pulled right up to the food vessel 皀 — no waiting, no walking over: dinner is here this very instant. 即 is "at once".
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 立即lì jíimmediately; at once即 = jí
- 即使jí shǐeven if; even though即 = jí
- 亦即yì jíthat is to say; namely即 = jí
- 即将jí jiāngabout to; on the point of即 = jí
Go deeper
All readings
at once; namely
immediately; at once; namely; that is; (in 即使) even if
立刻、马上；也表示「就是」，或用在「即使」中表示让步。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 立即lì jíimmediately; at once即 = jí
- 即使jí shǐeven if; even though即 = jí
- 亦即yì jíthat is to say; namely即 = jí
- 即将jí jiāngabout to; on the point of即 = jí
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 即 mean?
即 (jí) means immediately; at once; namely; that is; (in 即使) even if.
How do you pronounce 即?
It is pronounced jí.
What parts is 即 made of?
皀 (food heaped in a serving vessel; inside 即 and 既 it is written in a reduced five-stroke form) and 卩 (kneeling person; seal (tally)), side by side. The recorded source is: hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph stroke inspection (左半五笔 皀 的简省形 + 右半两笔 卩). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 即 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 即?
卩. 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 即?
Common ones are 立即 and 即使. The reading of 即 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.