蹊 meaning and stroke order
Trail, footpath
How to write 蹊, stroke by stroke
17 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 蹊
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (literary) footpath
- used in 蹊蹺|蹊跷[qi1 qiao1]
- Taiwan pr. [xi1]
How 蹊 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Foot.
足 gives the meaning and 奚 hints at the sound.
Radical: 足 (foot), shared by 119 characters on this site.
How to remember 蹊
The foot radical 足 on the left tells you this is about walking, and 奚 (xī) on the right gives the sound. Picture feet wearing a small trail into the ground, and you have a footpath.
In modern Chinese 蹊 is read qī almost only in the word 蹊跷 (qīqiāo), meaning something is odd or fishy. Example: 这件事有点蹊跷。(Zhè jiàn shì yǒudiǎn qīqiāo.) There is something fishy about this. The footpath meaning, read xī, appears mainly in literary phrases and idioms.
Common mistake: Learners often read 蹊 as xī everywhere because of the phonetic 奚, but in 蹊跷 mainland Mandarin uses qī. Also do not confuse it with 溪 (xī, stream), which has the water radical instead of the foot.
Common words with 蹊
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 蹊跷 | qīqiāo | odd; queer; strange; fishy |
Questions about 蹊
How many strokes are in 蹊?
蹊 is written with 17 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 蹊 mean?
蹊 (qī) means trail, footpath. A common word with it is 蹊跷 (qīqiāo), meaning "odd; queer; strange; fishy".
How do you pronounce 蹊?
蹊 is pronounced qī, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 蹊?
The radical of 蹊 is 足, which carries the idea of "foot". Dictionaries list 蹊 under this radical.
Which idiom uses 蹊 meaning path?
The best known is 另辟蹊径 (lìng pì xī jìng), to open up a new path or find a new approach. Here 蹊 is read xī and keeps its literary sense of footpath.
Is 蹊跷 a positive or negative word?
It is usually negative or suspicious. It suggests something is strange in a way that makes you think something is wrong or hidden, similar to English fishy.