既 (jì) is a Chinese character meaning “already”. 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 旡 (a component seen on the right of 既; in modern print it closely resembles 无), side by side, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “already; since”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
皀 + 旡
Left–right structure
- 皀 food heaped in a serving vessel; inside 即, 既 and 卿 it is written in a reduced five-stroke form meaning
- 旡 a component seen on the right of 既; in modern print it closely resembles 无 · jì sound
Structure from: 说文解字: 既，小食也。从皀旡声；hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（9 画：左 皀 简省形 5 + 右 旡 4）
Memory aid
On the left, a bowl heaped with food (皀). On the right (旡), someone has already turned away from it. The meal is done — 既 means "already", and "since (that's done)…". This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 既然jì ránsince; now that既 = jì
- 既往jì wǎngthe past; bygones既 = jì
Go deeper
All readings
already; since
already; since; now that; both … and … (in 既…又…)
已经；用在复句前一分句，表示先提出前提（既然）；也与「又」「也」配合，表示两种情况同时存在。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 既然jì ránsince; now that既 = jì
- 既往jì wǎngthe past; bygones既 = jì
Easy to confuse with
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 既 mean?
既 (jì) means already; since; now that; both … and … (in 既…又…).
How do you pronounce 既?
It is pronounced jì.
What parts is 既 made of?
皀 (food heaped in a serving vessel; inside 即 and 既 it is written in a reduced five-stroke form) and 旡 (a component seen on the right of 既; in modern print it closely resembles 无), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 既，小食也。从皀旡声；hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（9 画：左 皀 简省形 5 + 右 旡 4）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 既 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 既?
旡. 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 既?
Common ones are 既然 and 既往. The reading of 既 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.