基 (jī) is a Chinese character meaning “base”. It is written from 其 (his; her; its; that) and 土 (earth; soil), one above the other, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “base; foundation”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
其 + 土
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: IDS 现代字形拆分 ⿱其土；与 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 笔画核验：其 8 笔 + 土 3 笔 = 11 笔（说文解字：基，墙始也。从土其声）
Memory aid
Earth (土) packed down underneath 其 — the ground at the bottom is what everything else stands on: the base.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 基础jī chǔfoundation; basis基 = jī
- 基本jī běnbasic; fundamental; basically基 = jī
Go deeper
All readings
base; foundation
base; foundation; basic; fundamental
建筑物的根脚；根本的、起头的。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 基础jī chǔfoundation; basis基 = jī
- 基本jī běnbasic; fundamental; basically基 = jī
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 基 mean?
基 (jī) means base; foundation; basic; fundamental.
How do you pronounce 基?
It is pronounced jī.
What parts is 基 made of?
其 (his; her; its; that) and 土 (earth; soil), one above the other. The recorded source is: IDS 现代字形拆分 ⿱其土；与 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 笔画核验：其 8 笔 + 土 3 笔 = 11 笔（说文解字：基，墙始也。从土其声）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 基 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 基?
土. 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 基?
Common ones are 基础 and 基本. The reading of 基 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.