圭 meaning and stroke order
Jade tablet
How to write 圭, 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
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- 6
Meaning of 圭
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- jade tablet, square at the base and rounded or pointed at the top, held by the nobility at ceremonies
- sundial
- (ancient unit of volume) a tiny amount; a smidgen; a speck
How 圭 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. A stack of tablets.
Radical: 土 (soil), shared by 183 characters on this site.
How to remember 圭
圭 (guī) is two 土 (tǔ, earth) stacked on top of each other, which you can picture as a stack of tablets. Think of a tall jade tablet standing upright, held by a noble at a ceremony.
圭 rarely appears alone in modern Chinese. It shows up in set phrases and as a sound part in other characters. A common phrase is 奉为圭臬 (fèng wéi guī niè), meaning to treat something as the guiding standard, for example 他把这本书奉为圭臬 (tā bǎ zhè běn shū fèng wéi guī niè), "He treats this book as his gold standard."
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 圭 with 主 (zhǔ, master) or 王 (wáng, king), since all three are built from stacked horizontal strokes. 圭 is two full 土 shapes, so it has four horizontal strokes and two vertical ones, with no dot on top.
圭 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 圭
Learning 圭 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 圭
How many strokes are in 圭?
圭 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 圭 mean?
圭 (guī) means jade tablet.
How do you pronounce 圭?
圭 is pronounced guī, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 圭?
The radical of 圭 is 土, which carries the idea of "soil". Dictionaries list 圭 under this radical.
Which common characters use 圭 as a component?
圭 appears in many characters, often hinting at the sound. Examples include 街 (jiē, street), 挂 (guà, to hang), 鞋 (xié, shoe), 佳 (jiā, good) and 蛙 (wā, frog).
What does 圭臬 mean?
圭臬 (guī niè) originally referred to ancient instruments for measuring the sun's shadow, linked to the sundial sense of 圭. Today it means a standard or model to follow, usually in the phrase 奉为圭臬.