旗 meaning and stroke order
Banner, flag, streamer
How to write 旗, 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 旗
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- banner
- flag
- (in Qing times) Manchu (cf. 八旗[Ba1 qi2])
- administrative subdivision in inner Mongolia equivalent to 縣|县[xian4] county
- variant of 旗[qi2]
How 旗 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Square.
方 gives the meaning and 其 hints at the sound.
Radical: 方 (square), shared by 17 characters on this site.
How to remember 旗
旗 (qí) has 方 on the left as the meaning part and 其 (qí) at the bottom right as the sound part. Picture a square 方 cloth hanging from a pole with a little banner tip on top, and remember it sounds like 其 (qí).
旗 usually appears in compounds such as 国旗 (guóqí, national flag), 旗子 (qízi, flag) and 旗袍 (qípáo, cheongsam). It also has a business sense in 旗下 (qíxià), meaning a company or brand is owned by a larger group. Example: 学校门口挂着一面国旗。(Xuéxiào ménkǒu guàzhe yí miàn guóqí.) A national flag hangs at the school gate.
Common mistake: Learners often write 旗 as 方 plus 其 side by side and forget the small 𠂉 shape sitting on top of 其 on the right. Also do not confuse it with 棋 (qí, chess), which has the same sound but uses 木 on the left.
Common words with 旗
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 国旗 | guóqí | flag (of a country) | HSK 6 |
| 旗帜 | qízhì | ensign; flag | HSK 7-9 |
| 锦旗 | jǐnqí | silk banner (as an award or gift) | HSK 7-9 |
| 旗袍 | qípáo | cheongsam, a traditional Chinese dress for women, originally a long robe worn by Manchu wo | HSK 7-9 |
| 旗子 | qízi | flag; banner | |
| 旗下 | qíxià | under the banner of | |
| 红旗 | Hóngqí | red flag | |
| 白旗 | báiqí | white flag | |
| 旗舰 | qíjiàn | flagship |
旗 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 旗
How many strokes are in 旗?
旗 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 旗 mean?
旗 (qí) means banner, flag, streamer. A common word with it is 国旗 (guóqí), meaning "flag (of a country)".
How do you pronounce 旗?
旗 is pronounced qí, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 旗?
The radical of 旗 is 方, which carries the idea of "square". Dictionaries list 旗 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 旗?
The traditional form of 旗 is 旂. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 旗 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 旗 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 旗 is part of the HSK 6 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What measure word is used for 旗?
The most common measure word is 面 (miàn), as in 一面旗 (yí miàn qí), one flag. In casual speech you may also hear 一杆旗 (yì gān qí) when the flag is on a pole.
Why is the cheongsam called 旗袍 (qípáo)?
In Qing times 旗 referred to the Manchu banner system, so 旗人 (qírén) meant Manchu people. 旗袍 originally meant the long robe worn by Manchu women, which later developed into the modern dress.