纪 (jì) is a Chinese character meaning “to record”. It is written from 纟 (silk; thread (left-side form)) and 己 (oneself), side by side, and takes 6 strokes.
Build the character for “record; era”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
纟 + 己
Left–right structure
Structure from: Unicode U+7EAA 现代字形与笔顺数据（6 画 = 纟 3 画 + 己 3 画）；纟 为义符，己 jǐ 与本字 jì 同声母同韵母、仅声调不同，作声符
Memory aid
A silk thread (纟) tied around yourself (己) — the knot you use to keep a record of what happened.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
6 strokes
In real words
- 世纪shì jìcentury纪 = jì
- 纪念jì niànto commemorate; a keepsake纪 = jì
Go deeper
All readings
record; era
to record; a written account; an ordered period of time (era, age)
记载、记录；也指按顺序划分的时间段，如世纪、年代。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 世纪shì jìcentury纪 = jì
- 纪念jì niànto commemorate; a keepsake纪 = jì
Rare readings, not taught: jǐ
Sound component
己 family tone diff
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 纪 mean?
纪 (jì) means to record; a written account; an ordered period of time (era, age).
How do you pronounce 纪?
It is pronounced jì.
What parts is 纪 made of?
纟 (silk; thread (left-side form)) and 己 (oneself), side by side. The recorded source is: Unicode U+7EAA 现代字形与笔顺数据（6 画 = 纟 3 画 + 己 3 画）；纟 为义符，己 jǐ 与本字 jì 同声母同韵母、仅声调不同，作声符. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 纪 have?
6. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 纪?
糸. 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 纪?
Common ones are 世纪 and 纪念. The reading of 纪 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.