诫 (jiè) is a Chinese character meaning “to warn”. It is written from 讠 (speech radical) and 戒 (to guard against; to give up (a habit)), side by side, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “to warn”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
讠 + 戒
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字: 誡，敕也。从言戒聲；Unicode U+8BEB 现代字形与笔顺数据（9 画 = 讠 2 画 + 戒 7 画）
Memory aid
Words (讠) that tell you to give something up (戒) — that is a warning.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 告诫gào jièto warn; to admonish诫 = jiè
- 劝诫quàn jièto exhort; to admonish诫 = jiè
Go deeper
All readings
to warn
to warn; to admonish; a warning or commandment
告诫，劝人警惕或改正；也指告诫的话、规条。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 告诫gào jièto warn; to admonish诫 = jiè
- 劝诫quàn jièto exhort; to admonish诫 = jiè
Sound component
戒 family
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 诫 mean?
诫 (jiè) means to warn; to admonish; a warning or commandment.
How do you pronounce 诫?
It is pronounced jiè.
What parts is 诫 made of?
讠 (speech radical) and 戒 (to guard against; to give up (a habit)), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 誡，敕也。从言戒聲；Unicode U+8BEB 现代字形与笔顺数据（9 画 = 讠 2 画 + 戒 7 画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 诫 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 诫?
讠. 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 诫?
Common ones are 告诫 and 劝诫. The reading of 诫 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.