儆 meaning and stroke order
To warn; warning
How to write 儆, stroke by stroke
14 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 儆
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to warn
- to admonish
How 儆 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Person.
亻 gives the meaning and 敬 hints at the sound.
Radical: 亻 (man), shared by 277 characters on this site.
How to remember 儆
儆 is a person 亻 next to 敬 (jìng, respect), which also gives the sound. Think of warning a person so they learn to show respect and behave.
儆 is a literary character and rarely appears alone in modern speech. You will mostly meet it in the idiom 杀鸡儆猴 and in formal phrases like 以儆效尤 (yǐ jǐng xiào yóu, to warn others against following a bad example). Example: 公司开除他是为了杀鸡儆猴。(Gōngsī kāichú tā shì wèile shājī jǐnghóu.) The company fired him to make an example of him.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 儆 with 警 (jǐng, to alert, police), which has the same sound and a similar meaning but uses 言 at the bottom instead of 亻 on the left. In the idiom 杀鸡儆猴, many people mistakenly write 警, though the standard form uses 儆.
Common words with 儆
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 杀鸡儆猴 | shājījǐnghóu | (lit.) to kill the chicken to warn the monkey (idiom); (fig.) to punish an individual as a |
Questions about 儆
How many strokes are in 儆?
儆 is written with 14 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 儆 mean?
儆 (jǐng) means to warn; warning. A common word with it is 杀鸡儆猴 (shājījǐnghóu), meaning "(lit.) to kill the chicken to warn the monkey (idiom); (fig.) to punish an individual as a".
How do you pronounce 儆?
儆 is pronounced jǐng, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 儆?
The radical of 儆 is 亻, which carries the idea of "man". Dictionaries list 儆 under this radical.
What is the difference between 儆 and 警?
Both mean to warn and both are read jǐng. 警 is the everyday character found in words like 警察 (jǐngchá, police) and 警告 (jǐnggào, to warn), while 儆 survives mainly in set idioms such as 杀鸡儆猴 and 以儆效尤.
Is 杀鸡儆猴 a positive or negative expression?
It is fairly neutral but often carries a slightly critical tone, since it describes punishing one person mainly to scare others. It is common in news and discussions of workplace or political discipline.