疾 (jí) is a Chinese character meaning “illness, disease”. It is written from 疒 (sickness radical (a person lying on a bed)) and 矢 (arrow), one enclosing the other, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “disease; swift”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
疒 + 矢
Enclosing structure
Structure from: 说文解字（疾，病也。从疒矢声）；现代字形拆分经 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：0-4 疒 / 5-9 矢
Memory aid
An arrow (矢) inside the sickness frame (疒): an illness that strikes as fast as an arrow — 疾 means both "disease" and "swift".
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 疾病jí bìngdisease; illness疾 = jí
- 残疾cán jídisability疾 = jí
- 疟疾nüè jímalaria疾 = jí
Go deeper
All readings
disease; swift
illness, disease; fast, swift; to hate
病；快、急速；痛恨。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 疾病jí bìngdisease; illness疾 = jí
- 残疾cán jídisability疾 = jí
- 疟疾nüè jímalaria疾 = jí
Sound component
矢 family diverged
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 疾 mean?
疾 (jí) means illness, disease; fast, swift; to hate.
How do you pronounce 疾?
It is pronounced jí.
What parts is 疾 made of?
疒 (sickness radical (a person lying on a bed)) and 矢 (arrow), one enclosing the other. The recorded source is: 说文解字（疾，病也。从疒矢声）；现代字形拆分经 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：0-4 疒 / 5-9 矢. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 疾 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 疾?
疒. 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 疾?
Common ones are 疾病 and 残疾. The reading of 疾 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.