乞 (qǐ) is a Chinese character meaning “to beg”. It is written from 𠂉 (top stroke form) and 乙 (second Heavenly Stem), one above the other, and takes 3 strokes.
Build the character for “to beg”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
𠂉 + 乙
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: Unicode U+4E5E; modern decomposition candidate checked against hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 stroke geometry
Memory aid
The top strokes (𠂉) bend down into 乙, like someone bowing to beg.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
3 strokes
In real words
- 乞求qǐ qiúto beg; to implore乞 = qǐ
- 乞丐qǐ gàibeggar乞 = qǐ
Go deeper
All readings
to beg
to beg; to request or ask for
向人请求给予；乞求。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 乞求qǐ qiúto beg; to implore乞 = qǐ
- 乞丐qǐ gàibeggar乞 = qǐ
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 乞 mean?
乞 (qǐ) means to beg; to request or ask for.
How do you pronounce 乞?
It is pronounced qǐ.
What parts is 乞 made of?
𠂉 (top stroke form) and 乙 (second Heavenly Stem), one above the other. The recorded source is: Unicode U+4E5E; modern decomposition candidate checked against hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 stroke geometry. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 乞 have?
3. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 乞?
乙. 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 乞?
Common ones are 乞求 and 乞丐. The reading of 乞 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.