汽 meaning and stroke order
Gasoline; steam, vapor
How to write 汽, stroke by stroke
7 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
- 7
Meaning of 汽
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- steam
- vapor
How 汽 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. Liquid 氵 gas 气; 气 also provides the pronunciation.
Radical: 氵 (water), shared by 467 characters on this site.
How to remember 汽
Water 氵 on the left plus gas 气 on the right gives 汽 (qì): water turning into gas, which is steam or vapor. The 气 part also tells you the sound, qì.
汽 rarely appears alone. It shows up in words linked to steam, fuel and engines, such as 汽车 (qìchē, car), 汽油 (qìyóu, gasoline) and 汽水 (qìshuǐ, soda). Example: 我坐公共汽车上班。(Wǒ zuò gōnggòng qìchē shàngbān.) I take the bus to work.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 汽 and 气 (qì), which sound the same. Use 气 for air, breath and weather, as in 天气 (tiānqì), and use 汽 for steam and vehicle words, as in 汽车.
Common words with 汽
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
汽 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 汽
How many strokes are in 汽?
汽 is written with 7 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 汽 mean?
汽 (qì) means gasoline; steam, vapor. A common word with it is 汽车 (qìchē), meaning "car; automobile".
How do you pronounce 汽?
汽 is pronounced qì, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 汽?
The radical of 汽 is 氵, which carries the idea of "water". Dictionaries list 汽 under this radical.
Is 汽 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 汽 is part of the HSK 1 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 1.
Why does 汽车 mean car if 汽 means steam?
Early motor vehicles were linked to engines that use vapor and fuel, so 汽 was used for the word. Today 汽车 simply means car, and the steam idea is no longer felt by speakers.
Does 汽水 mean steamed water?
No. 汽水 (qìshuǐ) means soda or a carbonated soft drink. The 汽 here refers to the gas bubbles in the drink.