际 (jì) is a Chinese character meaning “border”. It is written from 阝 (left form: mound (阜); right form: city or settlement (邑)) and 示 (altar; to show, to indicate), side by side, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “border; the space between”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
阝 + 示
Left–right structure
- 阝 left form: mound (阜); right form: city or settlement (邑) · fù unknown
- 示 altar; to show, to indicate · shì unknown
Structure from: 现代字形拆分，经 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（2 + 5 = 7 笔）
Memory aid
Picture a mound (阝) on the left and an altar (示) on the right: the boundary where one side's land meets the other's shrine. That meeting line is 际 — the border, the space between.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 国际guó jìinternational际 = jì
- 实际shí jìactual; real; practical际 = jì
Go deeper
All readings
border; between
border; boundary; edge; between; among; occasion, moment
边缘、交界的地方；也表示彼此之间，或指某个时候、场合。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 国际guó jìinternational际 = jì
- 实际shí jìactual; real; practical际 = jì
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 际 mean?
际 (jì) means border; boundary; edge; between; among; occasion, moment.
How do you pronounce 际?
It is pronounced jì.
What parts is 际 made of?
阝 (left form: mound (阜); right form: city or settlement (邑)) and 示 (altar; to show, to indicate), side by side. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分，经 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（2 + 5 = 7 笔）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 际 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 际?
阜. 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 际?
Common ones are 国际 and 实际. The reading of 际 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.