際 meaning and stroke order
Border, boundary, juncture
How to write 際, stroke by stroke
13 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
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- 13
Meaning of 際
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- border
- edge
- boundary
- interval
- between
- inter-
How 際 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Place.
阝 gives the meaning and 祭 hints at the sound.
Radical: 阝 (place), shared by 160 characters on this site.
How to remember 際
際 is built from 阝 (here a hint of place, like a mound or hillside) and 祭 (jì), which gives the sound. Picture the place where two hills meet: that meeting point is a border or juncture.
際 is the traditional form; in mainland simplified writing it appears as 际. It rarely stands alone and mostly shows up in words like 國際 (guójì, international), 實際 (shíjì, reality) and 之際 (zhījì, at the time of). Example: 實際上他很忙。(Shíjìshàng tā hěn máng.) In fact, he is very busy.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 際 with 祭 (jì, to offer sacrifice), since they share the same sound and the right side. Remember that 際 has the 阝 on the left for place or boundary, while 祭 alone is about rituals.
Common words with 際
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 國際 | guójì | international | HSK 2 |
| 實際 | shíjì | reality; practice | HSK 2 |
| 實際上 | shíjìshàng | in fact; in reality | HSK 3 |
| 交際 | jiāojì | communication; social intercourse | HSK 4 |
| 星際 | xīngjì | interstellar; interplanetary | |
| 之際 | zhījì | during; at the time of | |
| 不切實際 | bùqièshíjì | unrealistic; impractical | |
| 天際 | tiānjì | horizon | |
| 人際關係 | rénjìguānxì | interpersonal relationship | |
| 國際象棋 | guójìxiàngqí | chess | |
| 洲際 | zhōujì | intercontinental |
Questions about 際
How many strokes are in 際?
際 is written with 13 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 際 mean?
際 (jì) means border, boundary, juncture. A common word with it is 国际 (guójì), meaning "international".
How do you pronounce 際?
際 is pronounced jì, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 際?
The radical of 際 is 阝, which carries the idea of "place". Dictionaries list 際 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 際?
際 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 际, used in mainland China and Singapore.
Why does 際 mean inter- in words like international?
Since 際 means the boundary or space between things, it naturally expresses relations between groups. 國際 (guójì) is literally between countries, and 星際 (xīngjì) is between stars.
How is 之際 used in a sentence?
之際 comes after a clause or noun to mean at the time of, and it sounds formal or written. For example, 新年之際 (xīnnián zhījì) means on the occasion of the New Year.