记 (jì) is a Chinese character meaning “to write down”. It is written from 讠 (speech radical) and 己 (oneself), side by side, and takes 5 strokes.
Build the character for “to record”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
讠 + 己
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字: 記，疏也。从言己聲
Memory aid
Speech (讠) placed next to yourself (己): you say it out loud so you can keep it — that is what it means to record something.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
5 strokes
In real words
- 记忆jì yìmemory; to remember记 = jìHSK 4
- 日记rì jìdiary; journal记 = jì
- 传记zhuàn jìbiography记 = jì
- 忘记wàng jìto forget记 = jìHSK 3
- 牢记láo jìto keep firmly in mind记 = jì
- 记者jì zhěreporter; journalist记 = jìHSK 4
- 惦记diàn jìto keep thinking about; to remember with concern记 = jìspoken asdiàn ji
- 笔记bǐ jìnotes (written down)记 = jì
- 记录jì lùto write down; a record记 = jì
- 记载jì zǎito record; a written record记 = jì
- 铭记míng jìto engrave on one's mind; to remember always记 = jì
Go deeper
All readings
to record
to write down; to record; to remember; a note or record
把事情写下来或留在脑子里；也指记录下来的文字。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 记忆jì yìmemory; to remember记 = jìHSK 4
- 日记rì jìdiary; journal记 = jì
- 传记zhuàn jìbiography记 = jì
- 忘记wàng jìto forget记 = jìHSK 3
- 牢记láo jìto keep firmly in mind记 = jì
- 记者jì zhěreporter; journalist记 = jìHSK 4
- 惦记diàn jìto keep thinking about; to remember with concern记 = jìspoken asdiàn ji
- 笔记bǐ jìnotes (written down)记 = jì
- 记录jì lùto write down; a record记 = jì
- 记载jì zǎito record; a written record记 = jì
- 铭记míng jìto engrave on one's mind; to remember always记 = jì
Sound component
己 family tone diff
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 记 mean?
记 (jì) means to write down; to record; to remember; a note or record.
How do you pronounce 记?
It is pronounced jì.
What parts is 记 made of?
讠 (speech radical) and 己 (oneself), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 記，疏也。从言己聲. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 记 have?
5. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 记?
讠. 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 记?
Common ones are 记忆 and 日记. The reading of 记 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.