缉 meaning and stroke order
To sieze, to arrest; to stich closely
How to write 缉, 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 缉
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to seize
- to arrest
- Taiwan pr. [qi4]
- to stitch finely
How 缉 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Thread.
纟 gives the meaning and 咠 hints at the sound.
Radical: 纟 (silk), shared by 143 characters on this site.
How to remember 缉
缉 is built from 纟 (silk thread) on the left and 咠 on the right, which gives the sound. Picture pulling a thread tight around a suspect, sewing up the case until they are caught.
In modern Chinese 缉 (jī) almost always means to seize or arrest, and it appears mainly in set words like 通缉 (tōngjī), 缉毒 (jīdú) and 追缉 (zhuījī), often in news and police contexts. Example: 警方正在通缉这名逃犯。(Jǐngfāng zhèngzài tōngjī zhè míng táofàn.) The police are hunting for this fugitive.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 缉 with 辑 (jí), as in 编辑 (biānjí, to edit), because they share the 咠 part. Remember that the thread radical 纟 goes with catching (jī), while the cart radical 车 goes with editing (jí).
Common words with 缉
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
缉 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 缉
How many strokes are in 缉?
缉 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 缉 mean?
缉 (jī) means to sieze, to arrest; to stich closely. A common word with it is 通缉 (tōngjī), meaning "to order the arrest of sb as criminal; to list as wanted".
How do you pronounce 缉?
缉 is pronounced jī, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 缉?
The radical of 缉 is 纟, which carries the idea of "silk". Dictionaries list 缉 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 缉?
The traditional form of 缉 is 緝. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 缉 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 缉 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 缉 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Is 缉 ever pronounced qī?
Yes. When it means to stitch finely, as in sewing with tight close stitches, it is read qī. This sense is rare today, so jī is the reading you will hear most.
What is the difference between 通缉 and 逮捕?
通缉 (tōngjī) means to issue a wanted notice for someone who has not been caught yet. 逮捕 (dàibǔ) means to actually arrest a person, so a 通缉犯 is still at large until they are 逮捕.