吉 meaning and stroke order
Lucky, propitious, good
How to write 吉, stroke by stroke
6 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
Meaning of 吉
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- lucky
- giga- (meaning billion or 10^9)
How 吉 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. The words 口 of a scholar 士.
Radical: 口 (mouth), shared by 428 characters on this site.
How to remember 吉
吉 (jí) puts a scholar 士 on top of a mouth 口. The words 口 of a scholar 士 were thought to be wise and good, so they bring luck.
吉 rarely stands alone in speech and mostly appears in words like 吉利 (jílì) and 吉祥 (jíxiáng), or in sayings for holidays and openings. It also spells out foreign sounds, as in 吉他 (jítā, guitar) and 吉普车 (jípǔchē, jeep). Example: 新年大吉 (xīnnián dàjí) Good luck in the new year.
Common mistake: Learners often write the top as 土 (tǔ) instead of 士 (shì). In 吉 the lower horizontal stroke of the top part is shorter than the upper one, which is the opposite of 土.
Common words with 吉
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 吉利 | jílì | auspicious; lucky | HSK 6 |
| 吉祥 | jíxiáng | lucky; auspicious | HSK 6 |
| 吉他 | jítā | (loanword) guitar | HSK 7-9 |
| 吉普 | jípǔ | Jeep (car brand) | HSK 7-9 |
| 吉祥物 | jíxiángwù | mascot | HSK 7-9 |
| 吉普车 | jípǔchē | jeep (military vehicle) (loanword) | |
| 吉他手 | jítāshǒu | guitarist | |
| 大吉 | dàjí | very auspicious; extremely lucky | |
| 吉娃娃 | jíwáwa | Chihuahua (dog) | |
| 安吉尔 | ānjí'ěr | angel (loanword) | |
| 吉尔达 | jí'ěrdá | gelada (Theropithecus gelada), Ethiopian herbivorous monkey similar to baboon | |
| 关门大吉 | guānméndàjí | to close down a business for good and put the best face on it (idiom) | |
| 吉士 | jíshì | cheese (loanword); custard powder |
吉 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 吉
Learning 吉 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 吉
How many strokes are in 吉?
吉 is written with 6 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 吉 mean?
吉 (jí) means lucky, propitious, good. A common word with it is 吉利 (jílì), meaning "auspicious; lucky".
How do you pronounce 吉?
吉 is pronounced jí, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 吉?
The radical of 吉 is 口, which carries the idea of "mouth". Dictionaries list 吉 under this radical.
Is 吉 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 吉 is part of the HSK 6 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 3.
What is the difference between 吉利 and 吉祥?
Both mean lucky or auspicious. 吉利 often describes words, numbers or signs that bring good luck, like 吉利的数字 (a lucky number). 吉祥 feels more formal and festive, and it appears in blessings and in 吉祥物 (jíxiángwù, mascot).
Why does 吉 mean giga- in technical words?
吉 is used for its sound to represent the metric prefix giga, meaning 10^9. For example, 吉字节 (jí zìjié) means gigabyte, though in everyday speech people usually just say G.