戒 (jiè) is a Chinese character meaning “to be on guard against”. It is written from 戈 (dagger-axe (ancient pole weapon); Kangxi radical 62) and 廾 (two hands raised together), and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “to guard against; to give up”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
戈 + 廾
Overlapping structure
- 戈 dagger-axe (ancient pole weapon); Kangxi radical 62 · gē unknown
- 廾 two hands raised together · gǒng unknown
Structure from: modern shape decomposition candidate ⿻戈廾, verified against hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1: 戒 strokes 1/5/6/7 match 戈 (横·斜钩·撇·点) and strokes 2/3/4 match 廾 (横·撇·竖); the two parts interlock rather than sit side by side
Memory aid
Two hands 廾 gripping a dagger-axe 戈 and holding it up across the body — on guard, warning everyone off. That is 戒: to guard against, and to swear off.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 戒烟jiè yānto quit smoking戒 = jiè
- 警戒jǐng jièto stand guard; to be on the alert戒 = jiè
- 斋戒zhāi jièto fast; to abstain (for religious reasons)戒 = jiè
Go deeper
All readings
to guard against; to give up
to be on guard against; to warn; to give up (a habit); a religious precept; a finger ring
防备、警告；戒除某种习惯；宗教的戒律；也指套在手指上的环。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 戒烟jiè yānto quit smoking戒 = jiè
- 警戒jǐng jièto stand guard; to be on the alert戒 = jiè
- 斋戒zhāi jièto fast; to abstain (for religious reasons)戒 = jiè
Easy to confuse with
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 戒 mean?
戒 (jiè) means to be on guard against; to warn; to give up (a habit); a religious precept; a finger ring.
How do you pronounce 戒?
It is pronounced jiè.
What parts is 戒 made of?
戈 (dagger-axe (ancient pole weapon); Kangxi radical 62) and 廾 (two hands raised together). The recorded source is: modern shape decomposition candidate ⿻戈廾, verified against hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1: 戒 strokes 1/5/6/7 match 戈 (横·斜钩·撇·点) and strokes 2/3/4 match 廾 (横·撇·竖); the two parts interlock rather than sit side by side. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 戒 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 戒?
戈. 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 戒?
Common ones are 戒烟 and 警戒. The reading of 戒 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.