骑 (qí) is a Chinese character meaning “to ride (an animal or a bicycle)”. It is written from 马 (horse) and 奇 (strange; odd), side by side, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “to ride”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
马 + 奇
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字：骑，跨马也。从马奇声。IDS 拆分 ⿰马奇，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「马」，笔画 3–10 与「奇」逐笔对应（3+8=11 画）
Memory aid
A horse (马) on the left — that's what you sit on. 奇 (qí) on the right gives the sound: qí. To ride is to climb onto the horse.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 骑马qí mǎto ride a horse骑 = qí
- 骑车qí chēto ride a bicycle骑 = qí
Go deeper
All readings
to ride
to ride (an animal or a bicycle); to sit astride
两腿分开坐在牲畜或车子上。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 骑马qí mǎto ride a horse骑 = qí
- 骑车qí chēto ride a bicycle骑 = qí
Sound component
奇 family exact
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 骑 mean?
骑 (qí) means to ride (an animal or a bicycle); to sit astride.
How do you pronounce 骑?
It is pronounced qí.
What parts is 骑 made of?
马 (horse) and 奇 (strange; odd), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字：骑，跨马也。从马奇声。IDS 拆分 ⿰马奇，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「马」，笔画 3–10 与「奇」逐笔对应（3+8=11 画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 骑 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 骑?
马. 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 骑?
Common ones are 骑马 and 骑车. The reading of 骑 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.