祇 meaning and stroke order
Only, just, simply; one of a pair; an earth god
How to write 祇, stroke by stroke
8 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
- 8
Meaning of 祇
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- god of the earth
How 祇 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Spirit.
礻 gives the meaning and 氏 hints at the sound.
Radical: 礻 (spirit), shared by 43 characters on this site.
How to remember 祇
The spirit radical 礻 on the left marks something sacred, and 氏 (shì) on the right gives the sound. Picture a spirit 礻 worshipped by a clan 氏 as their local earth god.
祇 (qí) means an earth god and mostly appears in formal or classical phrases. The common set phrase is 神祇 (shénqí), meaning gods and spirits in general, since 神 refers to heavenly gods and 祇 to earth gods. Example: 古人祭祀天地神祇。(Gǔrén jìsì tiāndì shénqí.) The ancients made offerings to the gods of heaven and earth.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 祇 with 祗 (zhī, to respect), which looks almost the same but has an extra dot under 氏 (氐). Also, in traditional texts 祇 can be a variant for 只 (zhǐ, only), so do not read it as qí in that sense.
Questions about 祇
How many strokes are in 祇?
祇 is written with 8 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 祇 mean?
祇 (qí) means only, just, simply; one of a pair; an earth god.
How do you pronounce 祇?
祇 is pronounced qí, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 祇?
The radical of 祇 is 礻, which carries the idea of "spirit". Dictionaries list 祇 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 祇?
祇 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 只, used in mainland China and Singapore.
Why does 祇 sometimes mean only or just?
In older and traditional writing, 祇 was used as a variant of 只 (zhǐ, only). In that use it is read zhǐ, not qí. Modern simplified Chinese simply writes 只.
What is the difference between 神 and 祇?
Traditionally 神 (shén) refers to gods of heaven, while 祇 (qí) refers to gods of the earth. Together as 神祇 they mean all gods and spirits.