气 (qì) is a Chinese character meaning “air”. It is written from ㇒ (left-falling stroke) and ㇐ (horizontal stroke) and ㇐ (horizontal stroke) and ㇈ (horizontal stroke bending into a hook), and takes 4 strokes.
Build the character for “air; gas”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
㇒ + ㇐ + ㇐ + ㇈
Overlapping structure
- ㇒ left-falling stroke unknown
- ㇐ horizontal stroke unknown
- ㇐ horizontal stroke unknown
- ㇈ horizontal stroke bending into a hook unknown
Structure from: Unicode U+6C14 and hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph inspection (four strokes: 撇 / 横 / 横 / 横斜钩)
Memory aid
A leaning ㇒ and two short ㇐ ㇐ drift like wisps of vapour, and the long ㇈ sweeps underneath and hooks up, blowing them away.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
4 strokes
In real words
- 天气tiān qìweather气 = qì
- 生气shēng qìto get angry; to take offence气 = qì
- 叹气tàn qìto sigh气 = qì
- 士气shì qìmorale气 = qì
- 帅气shuài qìhandsome; dashing气 = qì
- 气氛qì fēnatmosphere; mood (of a place or occasion)气 = qì
- 邪气xié qìunhealthy trend; evil influence气 = qì
- 勇气yǒng qìcourage气 = qì
- 唉声叹气āi shēng tàn qìto sigh and moan; to heave deep sighs气 = qì
- 朝气zhāo qìyouthful vigor; vitality气 = qì
- 气候qì hòuclimate气 = qì
- 气泡qì pàoair bubble; gas bubble气 = qì
- 气泵qì bèngair pump气 = qì
- 气馁qì něidiscouraged; to lose heart气 = qì
- 氢气qīng qìhydrogen (gas)气 = qì
- 氧气yǎng qìoxygen (gas)气 = qì
- 氨气ān qìammonia (gas)气 = qì
- 泄气xiè qìto lose heart; to be discouraged气 = qì
- 淘气táo qìnaughty; mischievous气 = qì
- 胀气zhàng qìbloating; flatulence气 = qì
Go deeper
All readings
air; gas
air; gas; breath; weather (in compounds); anger
气体，特指空气；也指呼吸、天气，以及生气的情绪。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 天气tiān qìweather气 = qì
- 生气shēng qìto get angry; to take offence气 = qì
- 叹气tàn qìto sigh气 = qì
- 士气shì qìmorale气 = qì
- 帅气shuài qìhandsome; dashing气 = qì
- 气氛qì fēnatmosphere; mood (of a place or occasion)气 = qì
- 邪气xié qìunhealthy trend; evil influence气 = qì
- 勇气yǒng qìcourage气 = qì
- 唉声叹气āi shēng tàn qìto sigh and moan; to heave deep sighs气 = qì
- 朝气zhāo qìyouthful vigor; vitality气 = qì
- 气候qì hòuclimate气 = qì
- 气泡qì pàoair bubble; gas bubble气 = qì
- 气泵qì bèngair pump气 = qì
- 气馁qì něidiscouraged; to lose heart气 = qì
- 氢气qīng qìhydrogen (gas)气 = qì
- 氧气yǎng qìoxygen (gas)气 = qì
- 氨气ān qìammonia (gas)气 = qì
- 泄气xiè qìto lose heart; to be discouraged气 = qì
- 淘气táo qìnaughty; mischievous气 = qì
- 胀气zhàng qìbloating; flatulence气 = qì
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 气 mean?
气 (qì) means air; gas; breath; weather (in compounds); anger.
How do you pronounce 气?
It is pronounced qì.
What parts is 气 made of?
㇒ (left-falling stroke) and ㇐ (horizontal stroke) and ㇐ (horizontal stroke) and ㇈ (horizontal stroke bending into a hook). The recorded source is: Unicode U+6C14 and hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph inspection (four strokes: 撇 / 横 / 横 / 横斜钩). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 气 have?
4. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 气?
气. 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 气?
Common ones are 天气 and 生气. The reading of 气 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.