級 meaning and stroke order
Level, rank; class, grade
How to write 級, stroke by stroke
9 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
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- 8
- 9
Meaning of 級
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- level
- grade
- rank
- step (of stairs)
- classifier: step, level
How 級 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Silk.
糹 gives the meaning and 及 hints at the sound.
Radical: 糹 (silk), shared by 126 characters on this site.
How to remember 級
級 is silk 糹 plus 及 (jí), which gives the sound. Picture silk threads sorted into neat grades of quality, one level after another.
級 means a level, grade or rank, and it appears in many common words like 年級 (niánjí) school year and 高級 (gāojí) high level. It can also count steps of stairs. Example: 我上三年級。(Wǒ shàng sān niánjí.) I am in third grade.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 級 (jí) with 極 (jí, extreme), especially in 超級 (chāojí) versus 極了 (jíle). Use 級 for levels and grades, and 極 for extremes.
Common words with 級
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 高級 | gāojí | high level; high grade | HSK 2 |
| 年級 | niánjí | grade; year (in school, college etc) | HSK 2 |
| 中級 | zhōngjí | middle level (in a hierarchy) | HSK 2 |
| 超級 | chāojí | super-; ultra- | HSK 3 |
| 班級 | bānjí | class (group of students); grade (in school) | HSK 3 |
| 初級 | chūjí | junior; primary | HSK 3 |
| 上級 | shàngjí | higher authorities; superiors | HSK 5 |
| 等級 | děngjí | grade; rank | HSK 5 |
| 升級 | shēngjí | to go up by one grade; to be promoted; to escalate (in intensity) | HSK 6 |
| 頂級 | dǐngjí | top-notch; first-rate | HSK 7-9 |
| 級別 | jíbié | (military) rank; level | HSK 7-9 |
| 階級 | jiējí | (social) class | HSK 7-9 |
| 重量級 | zhòngliàngjí | (sports) heavyweight class; (fig.) important; major; prominent; influential | HSK 7-9 |
| 世界級 | shìjiè jí | world-class | HSK 7-9 |
Questions about 級
How many strokes are in 級?
級 is written with 9 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 級 mean?
級 (jí) means level, rank; class, grade. A common word with it is 高级 (gāojí), meaning "high level; high grade".
How do you pronounce 級?
級 is pronounced jí, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 級?
The radical of 級 is 糹, which carries the idea of "silk". Dictionaries list 級 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 級?
級 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 级, used in mainland China and Singapore.
Why do I sometimes see 级 instead of 級?
级 is the simplified form used in mainland China, where the silk radical is written 纟. 級 is the traditional form used in Taiwan and Hong Kong. They mean the same thing.
How do I use 級 to count stairs?
級 can be a classifier for steps, as in 十級台階 (shí jí táijiē), ten steps. In everyday speech, people also often say 層 or just count the 台階 directly.