吉 (jí) is a Chinese character meaning “lucky”. It is written from 士 (scholar) and 口 (mouth), one above the other, and takes 6 strokes.
Build the character for “lucky”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
士 + 口
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: 说文解字: 吉，善也。从士、口
Memory aid
A scholar (士) standing over a mouth (口): when someone who knows what they are talking about opens their mouth, what comes out is good news. 吉 = lucky.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
6 strokes
In real words
- 吉利jí lìlucky; auspicious吉 = jí
- 吉他jí tāguitar吉 = jí
- 弗吉尼亚fú jí ní yàVirginia (US state)吉 = jí
- 吉祥jí xiángauspicious; lucky吉 = jí
Go deeper
All readings
lucky
lucky; auspicious; favourable
幸运的；美好的；预示好结果的。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 吉利jí lìlucky; auspicious吉 = jí
- 吉他jí tāguitar吉 = jí
- 弗吉尼亚fú jí ní yàVirginia (US state)吉 = jí
- 吉祥jí xiángauspicious; lucky吉 = jí
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 吉 mean?
吉 (jí) means lucky; auspicious; favourable.
How do you pronounce 吉?
It is pronounced jí.
What parts is 吉 made of?
士 (scholar) and 口 (mouth), one above the other. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 吉，善也。从士、口. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 吉 have?
6. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 吉?
口. 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 吉?
Common ones are 吉利 and 吉他. The reading of 吉 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.