级 (jí): level, grade
级 (jí) is a Chinese character meaning “level, grade.” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 纟 (semantic) and 及 (phonetic). It ranks #415 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 级 silk. Its radical form 纟 (silk) appears in many related characters such as 系 (xì, to connect), 累 (lèi, tired), 绍 (shào, to continue).
Definitions
- level, grade
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 级 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 级
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 超级adjective | chāo jí | super- | 5 |
| 年级noun | nián jí | grade | 3 |
| 高级adjective | gāo jí | high level | 5 |
| 升级verb | shēng jí | to go up by one grade | 5 |
| 上级noun | shàng jí | higher authorities | 6 |
| 等级noun | děng jí | grade | 6 |
| 班级noun | bān jí | class (group of students) | 3 |
| 初级adjective | chū jí | junior | 5 |
| 分级verb | fēn jí | to rank | 6 |
| 中级adjective | zhōng jí | middle level (in a hierarchy) | 5 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 晋级verb | jìn jí | to advance in rank |
| 级别noun | jí bié | (military) rank |
| 顶级adjective | dǐng jí | top-notch |
| 一级adjective | yī jí | first class |
| 二级adjective | èr jí | grade 2 |
| 低级adjective | dī jí | low level |
| 重量级noun | zhòng liàng jí | (sports) heavyweight class |
| 阶级noun | jiē jí | (social) class |
| 中产阶级noun | zhōng chǎn jiē jí | middle class |
| 星级noun | xīng jí | star rating |
| 世界级adjective | shì jiè jí | world-class |
| 量级noun | liàng jí | order of magnitude |
| 三级adjective | sān jí | grade 3 |
| 降级verb | jiàng jí | to demote |
| 下级noun | xià jí | low ranking |
级 appears in 100 compound words: 6 as the first character, 81 as the last, and 13 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 级 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (13)
Showing 12 of 13 idioms containing 级.
Example Sentences
这个软件的初级版本功能比较简单，适合新手使用。
Zhè gè ruǎnjiàn de chūjí bǎnběn gōngnéng bǐjiào jiǎndān, shìhé xīnshǒu shǐyòng.
The basic version of this software has relatively simple functions and is suitable for beginners.
东南亚加里曼丹岛附近发生7级地震
dōng nán yà jiā lǐ 曼 dān dǎo fù jìn fā shēng 7 jí dì zhèn
A magnitude 7 earthquake occurred near the island of Kalimantan in Southeast Asia
日本流感疫情持续高位,七成地区达“警报”级别
rì běn liú gǎn yì qíng chí xù gāo wèi , qī chéng dì qū dá jǐng bào jí bié
The influenza epidemic in Japan continues to be high, with 70% of the regions reaching the "alert" level
未必是坏事!南马降级成精英标 马拉松将回归体验本质
wèi bì shì huài shì ! nán mǎ jiàng jí chéng jīng yīng biāo mǎ lā sōng jiāng huí guī tǐ yàn běn zhì
It's not necessarily a bad thing! South Malaysia is relegated to an elite marathon and will return to the essence of experience
肥城:外卖小哥的“暖心守护”升级了
féi chéng wài mài xiǎo gē de nuǎn xīn shǒu hù shēng jí le
Feicheng: takeaway brother's "warm heart guardian" upgraded
永定河山峡段4座梯级水电站累计发电破100亿千瓦时
yǒng dìng hé shān xiá duàn zuò tī jí shuǐ diàn zhàn lěi jì fā diàn pò yì qiān wǎ shí
Cumulative power generation from the four cascade hydropower stations along the Yongding River's mountainous gorge section has surpassed 10 billion kilowatt-hours.
这个年级的法方代表是谁？
Zhège niánjí de fǎ fāng dàibiǎo shì shéi?
Who is the current representative from France?
你的妹妹念几年级？
Nǐ de mèimei niàn jǐnián jí?
What grade is your sister in?
控制一个班级需要你做老师的所有技能。
Kòngzhì yī gè bānjí xūyào nǐ zuò lǎoshī de suǒyǒu jìnéng.
To control a class calls for all your skills as a teacher.
那幅画是印象派的大师级作品。
Nà fú huà shì yìnxiàngpài de dàshī jí zuòpǐn.
That painting is a masterpiece of impressionist art.
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 纟 (silk) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 级 (jí) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 级 and 吸?
How many strokes does 级 have?
What is the radical of 级?
What are the components of 级?
What are common words containing 级?
What characters sound the same as 级 (jí)?
Is 级 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 级 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.