荊 meaning and stroke order
Thorns, brambles; surname
How to write 荊, stroke by stroke
10 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
- 9
- 10
Meaning of 荊
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- chaste tree or its berry (Vitex agnus-castus)
- (literary) cane or switch made from a chaste tree, used for punishment
How 荊 is built
Components of the character.
Radical: 艹 (grass), shared by 421 characters on this site.
How to remember 荊
荊 puts the grass radical 艹 on top of 刑 (xíng, punishment). Picture a thorny plant whose switches were cut and used to punish people, which matches the old sense of a cane made from the chaste tree.
Today 荊 mostly appears in the word 荆棘 (jīngjí), meaning brambles or thorny obstacles, often used figuratively for a hard path. It is also a surname. Example: 前面的路布满荆棘。(Qiánmiàn de lù bùmǎn jīngjí.) The road ahead is full of thorns.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes read 荊 as xíng because it contains 刑, but the correct reading is jīng in the first tone. Also do not confuse it with 荆's neighbor 莉 (lì) or with 棘 (jí), which is the second half of 荆棘, not a variant of 荊.
Common words with 荊
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 荊棘 | jīngjí | thistles and thorns; brambles | HSK 7-9 |
Questions about 荊
How many strokes are in 荊?
荊 is written with 10 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 荊 mean?
荊 (jīng) means thorns, brambles; surname. A common word with it is 荆棘 (jīngjí), meaning "thistles and thorns; brambles".
How do you pronounce 荊?
荊 is pronounced jīng, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 荊?
The radical of 荊 is 艹, which carries the idea of "grass". Dictionaries list 荊 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 荊?
荊 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 荆, used in mainland China and Singapore.
What does the idiom 负荆请罪 mean?
负荆请罪 (fù jīng qǐng zuì) means to carry a thorn switch on your back and ask for punishment. It describes sincerely apologizing and admitting a mistake, and it uses the old sense of 荊 as a punishing cane.
Why do I see both 荊 and 荆?
荆 is the form used in simplified Chinese, where the right side is written more simply. 荊 is the form you will see in traditional texts. Both are read jīng and mean the same thing.