极 (jí): extremely, pole (geography, physics), utmost
极 (jí) is a Chinese character meaning “extremely.” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 木 (semantic) and 及 (phonetic). It ranks #363 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 极 wood. Its radical form 木 (tree) appears in many related characters such as 本 (běn, (bound form) root), 机 (jī, machine, opportunity), 条 (tiáo, strip).
Definitions
- extremely
- pole (geography, physics)
- utmost
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 极 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 极
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 积极adjective | jī jí | active | 4 |
| 极端noun/adverb/adjective | jí duān | extreme | 6 |
| 极其adverb | jí qí | extremely | 5 |
| 消极adjective | xiāo jí | negative | 5 |
| 北极noun | běi jí | the North Pole | 6 |
| 极为adverb | jí wéi | extremely | 6 |
| 南极洲noun | nán jí zhōu | Antarctica | 6 |
| 两极noun | liǎng jí | the two poles | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 极了adverb | jí le | extremely |
| 极度adverb | jí dù | extremely |
| 终极adjective | zhōng jí | ultimate |
| 极限noun | jí xiàn | limit |
| 极大adjective | jí dà | enormous |
| 至极adverb | zhì jí | extremely |
| 极品noun | jí pǐn | best quality |
| 南极proper-noun | nán jí | the South Pole |
| 极力adverb | jí lì | to make a supreme effort |
| 极点noun | jí diǎn | extreme point |
| 北极熊noun | běi jí xióng | polar bear |
| 极致noun | jí zhì | peak |
| 电极noun | diàn jí | electrode |
| 太极noun | tài jí | the Absolute or Supreme Ultimate, the source of all things according to some interpretations of Chinese mythology |
| 极地noun | jí dì | polar region |
极 appears in 100 compound words: 42 as the first character, 31 as the last, and 27 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 极 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (16)
extreme adversity marks the beginning of fortune; when worse comes to the worst, things will turn for the better
extreme adversity marks the beginning of fortune; when worse comes to the worst, things will turn for the better
Showing 12 of 16 idioms containing 极.
Example Sentences
这个消息极好，大家都感到非常高兴。
Zhè gè xiāoxi jí hǎo, dàjiā dōu gǎndào fēicháng gāoxìng.
This news is extremely good; everyone feels very happy.
组图:太阳风暴来袭时 出现令人惊叹的极光
zǔ tú : tài yáng fēng bào lái xí shí chū xiàn lìng rén jīng tàn de jí guāng
Picture: Stunning aurora appears when a solar storm hits
马来西亚外海7.1强震 震源极深未发海啸警报
mǎ lái xī yà wài hǎi 7 . 1 qiáng zhèn zhèn yuán jí shēn wèi fā hǎi xiào jǐng bào
The 7.1 strong earthquake off the coast of Malaysia had a very deep epicenter and no tsunami warning was issued
公司老板钦佩神韵复兴传统:极具教育意义
gōng sī lǎo bǎn qīn pèi shén yùn fù xīng chuán tǒng : jí jù jiào yù yì yì
Company owners admire Shen Yun for reviving traditions: very educational
一场极致的气温震荡即将登场!气温猛冲到“四月春...
yī chǎng jí zhì de qì wēn zhèn dàng jí jiāng dēng chǎng ! qì wēn měng chōng dào sì yuè chūn . . .
An extreme temperature shock is on the way! Temperatures are surging into the "April Spring...
对话滞留俄罗斯“极光村”的中国游客:路两边的冰雪堆..
duì huà zhì liú é luó sī jí guāng cūn de zhōng guó yóu kè lù liǎng biān de bīng xuě duī . .
Dialogue with Chinese tourists stranded in Russia's "Aurora Village": Ice and snow piles on both sides of the road...
青年人总爱挑战极端。
Qīngniánrén zǒng ài tiǎozhàn jíduān.
Young people are apt to go to extremes.
他们出发去南极探险。
Tāmen chūfā qù nánjí tànxiǎn.
They went on an expedition to the Antarctic.
这个字形容得妙极了。
Zhège zìxíng róng de miào jíle.
That word describes it perfectly.
关于教育，他持极端意见。
Guānyú jiàoyù, tā chí jíduān yìjiàn.
He holds an extreme opinion on education.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 极 (jí) mean in Chinese?
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What characters sound the same as 极 (jí)?
Is 极 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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