棄 meaning and stroke order
To abandon, to discard, to reject; to desert; to forget
How to write 棄, stroke by stroke
12 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 棄
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to abandon
- to relinquish
- to discard
- to throw away
How 棄 is built
Components of the character.
Radical: 木 (tree), shared by 388 characters on this site.
How to remember 棄
Read 棄 from top to bottom: 亠 and 厶 look like a small bundle, 廾 is two hands, and 木 is wood at the bottom. Picture two hands dumping an unwanted bundle onto a pile of wood to throw it away.
棄 is the traditional form, and the simplified form is 弃. It rarely stands alone in modern speech and usually appears in two-character verbs like 放棄 (fàngqì, to give up) and 拋棄 (pāoqì, to abandon). Example: 不要放棄。(Bú yào fàngqì.) Don't give up.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 棄 (qì) with 棄's simplified form 弃 and then write a hybrid, or confuse 弃 with 并 (bìng) because both have two downward strokes at the bottom. Also keep the fourth tone: it is qì, not qí.
Common words with 棄
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 放棄 | fàngqì | to renounce; to abandon; to give up | HSK 5 |
| 拋棄 | pāoqì | to abandon; to discard | HSK 7-9 |
| 遺棄 | yíqì | to leave; to abandon | HSK 7-9 |
| 丟棄 | diūqì | to discard; to abandon | HSK 7-9 |
| 嫌棄 | xiánqì | to regard with disdain; to shun | HSK 7-9 |
| 廢棄 | fèiqì | to discard; to abandon (old ways) | |
| 捨棄 | shěqì | to give up; to abandon | |
| 背棄 | bèiqì | to abandon; to desert | |
| 棄權 | qìquán | to waive a right; to abstain (from voting) | |
| 唾棄 | tuòqì | to spurn; to disdain | |
| 摒棄 | bìngqì | to abandon; to discard | |
| 自暴自棄 | zìbàozìqì | to abandon oneself to despair; to give up and stop bothering | |
| 棄船 | qìchuán | to abandon ship | |
| 離棄 | líqì | to abandon |
Questions about 棄
How many strokes are in 棄?
棄 is written with 12 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 棄 mean?
棄 (qì) means to abandon, to discard, to reject; to desert; to forget. A common word with it is 放弃 (fàngqì), meaning "to renounce; to abandon; to give up".
How do you pronounce 棄?
棄 is pronounced qì, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 棄?
The radical of 棄 is 木, which carries the idea of "tree". Dictionaries list 棄 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 棄?
棄 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 弃, used in mainland China and Singapore.
What is the difference between 放棄 and 拋棄?
放棄 (fàngqì) means to give up something like a plan, a chance, or a goal. 拋棄 (pāoqì) is stronger and often means to abandon a person or thing, such as a partner or a pet.
Does 嫌棄 mean to throw something away?
No. 嫌棄 (xiánqì) means to look down on someone or find them distasteful, for example 他嫌棄我窮 (tā xiánqì wǒ qióng), he looks down on me for being poor. It describes an attitude, not a physical act of discarding.