Meaning of 戒
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to guard against
- to exhort
- to admonish or warn
- to give up or stop doing sth
- Buddhist monastic discipline
- ring (for a finger)
How to use 戒
In everyday speech 戒 most often means to quit a habit, as in 戒烟 (jiè yān, quit smoking) and 戒酒 (jièjiǔ, quit drinking). It also appears in more formal words for vigilance like 警戒 (jǐngjiè) and 戒备 (jièbèi). Example: 我爸爸去年戒烟了。(Wǒ bàba qùnián jiè yān le.) My dad quit smoking last year.
Look for the weapon 戈 (gē, halberd) on the right and two hands holding it below. Picture someone gripping a weapon to stand guard, which is the core idea of 戒: to guard against something, including your own bad habits.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 戒 with 戎 (róng, military) or 成 (chéng, to become), which share the 戈 part. Check the bottom: 戒 has two short legs like a hand pair under the cross stroke. Also note 戒指 (jièzhi) usually has a neutral tone on 指 in speech.
戒 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
戒 jiè · to guard against · 7 strokes
- 1
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- 4
- 5
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- 7
Related words
Words that share a character with 戒.
| 戒指 | jièzhi | (finger) ring |
| 戒烟 | jiè yān | to give up smoking |
| 戒备 | jièbèi | to take precautions; to guard against (emergency) |
| 警戒 | jǐngjiè | to warn; to alert |
| 戒酒 | jièjiǔ | to give up drinking; to abstain from drinking |
| 戒毒 | jièdú | to kick a drug habit; to abstain from drugs |
| 婚戒 | hūnjiè | wedding ring |
| 戒严 | jièyán | to impose martial law; to impose emergency measures |
| 惩戒 | chéngjiè | to discipline; reprimand |
| 戒律 | jièlǜ | monastic discipline; commandment |
| 警戒线 | jǐngjièxiàn | police cordon; alert level |
| 戒毒所 | jièdúsuǒ | drug rehabilitation center |
Questions about 戒
What does 戒 mean?
戒 (jiè) means "to guard against; to exhort" and is used as a verb.
How do you write 戒?
戒 is made of 1 character: 戒 (7 strokes). That is 7 strokes in total.
Is 戒 an HSK word?
Yes. 戒 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
Why does 戒 mean both 'quit' and 'ring'?
The core sense is guarding or restraint, and 戒指 (jièzhi) is simply the fixed word for a finger ring. In modern Chinese, 戒 alone rarely means ring, so say 戒指 or 戒子 is not used. Use 戒指 for ring and 戒 plus an object for quitting.
What is the difference between 戒烟 and 不抽烟?
戒烟 means you used to smoke and have quit or are trying to quit. 不抽烟 just means you do not smoke, with no implication of a past habit.