祈 (qí) is a Chinese character meaning “to pray”. It is written from 礻 (spirit / altar (radical form of 示)) and 斤 (catty (unit of weight)), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “to pray”
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Structure
礻 + 斤
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字「祈，求福也。从示，斤聲」；IDS 拆分 ⿰礻斤，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–3 为「礻」四笔，笔画 4–7 与「斤」逐笔对应（4+4=8画）
Memory aid
The altar side 礻 stands on the left, 斤 (a catty, a weight) on the right: at the altar you set down what you can weigh out, and ask for what you cannot — you pray.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 祈祷qí dǎoto pray; prayer祈 = qí
- 祈求qí qiúto beseech; to pray for祈 = qí
Go deeper
All readings
to pray
to pray; to entreat; to wish for earnestly
向神明求福；恳切地希望。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 祈祷qí dǎoto pray; prayer祈 = qí
- 祈求qí qiúto beseech; to pray for祈 = qí
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 祈 mean?
祈 (qí) means to pray; to entreat; to wish for earnestly.
How do you pronounce 祈?
It is pronounced qí.
What parts is 祈 made of?
礻 (spirit / altar (radical form of 示)) and 斤 (catty (unit of weight)), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字「祈，求福也。从示，斤聲」；IDS 拆分 ⿰礻斤，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–3 为「礻」四笔，笔画 4–7 与「斤」逐笔对应（4+4=8画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 祈 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 祈?
礻. 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 祈?
Common ones are 祈祷 and 祈求. The reading of 祈 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.