救 (jiù): to save, to assist, to rescue
救 (jiù) is a Chinese character meaning “to save.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 求 (phonetic) and 攵 (semantic). It ranks #872 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 救 hand. Its radical form 攵 (rap) appears in many related characters such as 放 (fàng, to put, to release), 教 (jiào, (bound form) to teach), 收 (shōu, to receive).
Definitions
- to save
- to assist
- to rescue
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 救 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 救
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 救命verb | jiù mìng | to save sb's life | 6 |
| 救护车noun | jiù hù chē | ambulance | 5 |
| 救援verb | jiù yuán | to save | 6 |
| 急救verb | jí jiù | to give emergency treatment | 6 |
| 求救verb | qiú jiù | to seek help (when in distress or having difficulties) | 6 |
| 救助verb | jiù zhù | to help sb in trouble | 6 |
| 抢救verb | qiǎng jiù | to rescue | 5 |
| 救灾verb | jiù zāi | to relieve disaster | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 拯救verb | zhěng jiù | to save |
| 挽救verb | wǎn jiù | to save |
| 解救verb | jiě jiù | to rescue |
| 救世主noun | jiù shì zhǔ | the Savior (in Christianity) |
| 营救verb | yíng jiù | to rescue |
| 补救verb | bǔ jiù | to remedy |
| 救济verb | jiù jì | emergency relief |
| 救生员noun | jiù shēng yuán | lifeguard |
| 救护verb | jiù hù | to rescue |
| 救活verb | jiù huó | to bring back to life |
| 得救verb | dé jiù | to be saved |
| 获救verb | huò jiù | to be rescued |
| 救火verb | jiù huǒ | to put out a fire |
| 救生verb | jiù shēng | to save a life |
| 救星noun | jiù xīng | savior |
救 appears in 91 compound words: 52 as the first character, 22 as the last, and 26 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 救 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (14)
to adopt a wrong method to save a situation and end up by making it worse
to jump into a well to rescue sb else (idiom); fig. to help others at the risk to oneself
to abandon self for others (idiom); to sacrifice oneself to help the people; altruism
to abandon self for others (idiom); to sacrifice oneself to help the people; altruism
Showing 12 of 14 idioms containing 救.
Example Sentences
救字在日常生活中使用频率中等。
jiù zì zài rì cháng shēng huó zhōng shǐ yòng pín lǜ zhōng děng .
The character "救" (rescue) is used moderately frequently in daily life.
...空塔升降机长达5个半小时 约20人全部获救
. . . kōng tǎ shēng jiàng jī cháng dá 5 gè bàn xiǎo shí yuē 2 0 rén quán bù huò jiù
... The empty tower lift lasted for five and a half hours, and about 20 people were rescued
大黄狗遭3楼丢下!肝脏碎裂 民众救援心疼
dà huáng gǒu zāo 3 lóu diū xià ! gān zāng suì liè mín zhòng jiù yuán xīn téng
The big yellow dog was dropped on the 3rd floor! The liver is broken, and the people are distressed
...命|秀茂坪顺利邨45岁妇堕楼 昏迷送院抢救不治
. . . mìng xiù mào píng shùn lì 邨 4 5 suì fù duò lóu hūn mí sòng yuàn qiǎng jiù bù zhì
... A 45-year-old woman fell from a building in Shunli Village, Sau Mau Ping, fell into a coma and was sent to the hospital for rescue
8名中国游客在贝加尔湖落水,目前仅1人获救
8 míng zhōng guó yóu kè zài bèi jiā ěr hú luò shuǐ , mù qián jǐn 1 rén huò jiù
Eight Chinese tourists fell into the water in Lake Baikal, and only one has been rescued
为了救许多人牺牲一个人是否道德？
Wèile jiù xǔduō rén xīshēng yīgèrén shìfǒu dàodé?
Would it be ethical to sacrifice one person to save many?
我们能拯救这颗星球吗？
Wǒmen néng zhěngjiù zhè kē xīngqiú ma?
Can we save the planet?
你知道海姆利克急救法吗？
Nǐ zhīdào Hǎimǔlìkè jíjiùfǎ ma?
Do you know the Heimlich maneuver?
我们怎样才可以救汤姆？
Wǒmen zěnyàng cái kěyǐ jiù Tāngmǔ?
How can we save Tom?
船上有多少艘救生艇？
Chuán shàng yǒu duōshao sōu jiùshēngtǐng?
How many lifeboats are on this ship?
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 攵 (hand) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 救 (jiù) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 救 and 球?
How many strokes does 救 have?
What is the radical of 救?
What are the components of 救?
What are common words containing 救?
What characters sound the same as 救 (jiù)?
Is 救 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 救 with real-time feedback
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