己 (jǐ): self, oneself, sixth of the ten Heavenly Stems 十天干
己 (jǐ) is a Chinese character meaning “self.” Classified as HSK Level 2 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 乚 (structural). It ranks #162 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically pictographic, 己 a loom woven with thread. Its radical form 己 (self) appears in many related characters such as 已 (yǐ, already), 巴 (bā, Ba, a state during the Zhou dynasty (in present-day Chongqing and the eastern part of Sichuan)), 巷 (xiàng, lane).
Definitions
- self
- oneself
- sixth of the ten Heavenly Stems 十天干
Etymology & Origin
pictographicA loom woven with thread
Stroke Order
Practice writing 己 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 己
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 知己 | zhī jǐ | to know oneself |
| 自己人 | zì jǐ rén | those on our side |
| 身不由己 | shēn bù yóu jǐ | (idiom) (of one's circumstances) beyond one's control |
| 据为己有 | jù wéi jǐ yǒu | (idiom) to illegally take possession of |
| 固执己见 | gù zhí jǐ jiàn | to persist in one's views |
| 安分守己 | ān fèn shǒu jǐ | to be content with one's lot (idiom) |
| 知己知彼 | zhī jǐ zhī bǐ | know yourself, know your enemy (idiom, from Sunzi's "The Art of War" 孫子兵法|孙子兵法[Sun1 zi3 Bing1 fa3]) |
| 己见 | jǐ jiàn | one's own viewpoint |
| 异己 | yì jǐ | dissident |
| 事不关己 | shì bù guān jǐ | a matter of no concern to oneself (idiom) |
| 利己 | lì jǐ | personal profit |
| 舍己为人 | shě jǐ wèi rén | to abandon self for others (idiom, from Analects) |
| 利己主义 | lì jǐ zhǔ yì | egoism |
| 己方 | jǐ fāng | our side |
| 各持己见 | gè chí jǐ jiàn | each sticks to his own opinion (idiom) |
己 appears in 77 compound words: 14 as the first character, 43 as the last, and 43 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 己 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (25)
self-restraint and devotion to public duties (idiom); selfless dedication; to serve the public interest wholeheartedly
to be wholeheartedly devoted to public duty; to work selflessly for the public interest
self-restraint and devotion to public duties (idiom); selfless dedication; to serve the public interest wholeheartedly
Showing 12 of 25 idioms containing 己.
Example Sentences
这个己字在古汉语中有不同的含义。
zhè gě jǐ zì zài gǔ hàn yǔ zhōng yǒu bù tóng de hán yì .
The character "己" had different meanings in classical Chinese.
...“加入李四川”?他酸呛:从头到尾只想到自己
. . . jiā rù lǐ sì chuān ? tā suān qiàng : cóng tóu dào wěi zhī xiǎng dào zì jǐ
"Join Li Sichuan"? He choked sourly: From beginning to end, he only thought of himself
过完年后该不该跳槽?先问自己五个“关键问题”
guò wán nián hòu gāi bù gāi tiào cáo ? xiān wèn zì jǐ wǔ gè guān jiàn wèn tí
Should I change jobs after the New Year? Ask yourself five "key questions" first
羡慕善于社交的同事,总是想改变自己?你只是没看见自己手握“内向者的王牌”
xiàn mù shàn yú shè jiāo de tóng shì , zǒng shì xiǎng gǎi biàn zì jǐ ? nǐ zhī shì méi kàn jiàn zì jǐ shǒu wò nèi xiàng zhě de wáng pái
Envy your sociable colleagues and always want to change yourself? You just don't see yourself holding the "trump card of an introvert"
中年4丨可岚陈逸璇Rock爆造型突破自己 许美琪由朝喊到晚有花名
zhōng nián 4 丨 kě 岚 chén yì 璇 R o c k bào zào xíng tū pò zì jǐ xǔ měi 琪 yóu cháo hǎn dào wǎn yǒu huā míng
Middle-aged 4丨 Kelan Chen Yixuan Rock broke through herself Xu Meiqi shouted from morning to evening and had a nickname
王心迪:在自己圆梦的同时,也帮助徐梦桃圆梦了
wáng xīn dí : zài zì jǐ yuán mèng de tóng shí , yě bāng zhù xú mèng táo yuán mèng le
Wang Xindi: While realizing his dream, he also helped Xu Mengtao realize his dream
这个娃娃是你自己做的吗？
Zhège wáwa shì nǐ zìjǐ zuò de ma?
Did you make this doll by yourself?
你认为他是自己独立完成这份工的吗？
Nǐ rènwéi tā shì zìjǐ dúlì wánchéng zhè fèn gōng de ma?
Do you think he did the job on his own?
你能用英语表达自己吗？
Nǐ néng yòng Yīngyǔ biǎodá zìjǐ ma?
Can you express yourself in English?
你在自己的家里开心吗？
Nǐ zài zìjǐ de jiālǐ kāixīn ma?
Are you happy at your own home?
Character Family
己 Radical Family — Characters sharing the self radical
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 己 (jǐ) mean in Chinese?
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What is the radical of 己?
What are the components of 己?
What are common words containing 己?
What characters sound the same as 己 (jǐ)?
Is 己 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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