岌 meaning and stroke order
Perilous, hazardous; steep, high
How to write 岌, 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 岌
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- lofty peak
- perilous
How 岌 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Mountain.
山 gives the meaning and 及 hints at the sound.
Radical: 山 (mountain), shared by 111 characters on this site.
How to remember 岌
A mountain 山 sits on top of 及 (jí), which also gives the sound. Picture yourself reaching 及 the top of a steep mountain 山, where one wrong step is perilous.
岌 almost never appears alone in modern Chinese. You will meet it in the idiom 岌岌可危 (jíjíkěwēi), which describes a situation on the edge of collapse. Example: 公司现在岌岌可危。(Gōngsī xiànzài jíjíkěwēi.) The company is now in a precarious position.
Common mistake: Learners often write 岌 as 发 or confuse it with 汲 (jí, to draw water), which uses the water radical 氵 instead of 山 on top. Remember that danger here comes from a mountain, so 山 goes above 及.
Common words with 岌
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 岌岌可危 | jíjíkěwēi | imminent danger (idiom); approaching a crisis |
Questions about 岌
How many strokes are in 岌?
岌 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 岌 mean?
岌 (jí) means perilous, hazardous; steep, high. A common word with it is 岌岌可危 (jíjíkěwēi), meaning "imminent danger (idiom); approaching a crisis".
How do you pronounce 岌?
岌 is pronounced jí, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 岌?
The radical of 岌 is 山, which carries the idea of "mountain". Dictionaries list 岌 under this radical.
Why is 岌 repeated in 岌岌可危?
Doubling 岌 into 岌岌 strengthens the image of something high and unstable, like a tottering peak. The full idiom means the danger is close and serious.
Can I use 岌岌可危 for a person's health or a building?
Yes. It works for anything about to fail, such as a business, a regime, an old building, or someone's health. It sounds fairly formal, so it is common in news and writing.