契 (qì): to carve, carved words, to agree
契 (qì) is a Chinese character meaning “to carve.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), with radical 大 (big). It ranks #1802 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 契 a contract signed by cutting 刀 notches 丰 in wood 木 (now changed to 大). Its radical form 大 (big) appears in many related characters such as 大 (dà, big), 天 (tiān, day), 太 (tài, highest).
Definitions
- to carve
- carved words
- to agree
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA contract signed by cutting 刀 notches 丰 in wood 木 (now changed to 大)
Decomposition: ⿱⿰丰刀大 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 契 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 契约 | qì yuē | agreement |
| 默契 | mò qì | tacit understanding |
| 契合 | qì hé | agreement |
| 契机 | qì jī | opportunity |
| 地契 | dì qì | title deed (for land) |
| 房契 | fáng qì | deed (for a house) |
| 普契尼 | pǔ qì ní | Puccini |
| 契诃夫 | qì hē fū | Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (1860-1904), Russian writer famous for his short stories and plays |
| 阿巴拉契亚 | ā bā lā qì yà | Appalachian Mountains in North America |
| 契据 | qì jù | deed |
| 阿契美尼德王朝 | ā qì měi ní dé wáng cháo | Achaemenid Dynasty, (559–330 BC), ancient Iranian dynasty whose kings ruled the Achaemenid Empire |
| 契约精神 | qì yuē jīng shén | culture of honoring contractual obligations |
| 同符合契 | tóng fú hé qì | same sign, joint aim (idiom) |
| 契沙比克湾 | qì shā bǐ kè wān | Chesapeake Bay |
| 契子 | qì zǐ | adopted son |
契 appears in 29 compound words: 48 as the first character, 41 as the last, and 10 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 契 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (1)
Example Sentences
契字的写法很特别，让我印象深刻。
qì zì de xiě fǎ hěn tè bié , ràng wǒ yìn xiàng shēn kè .
The way the character "契" is written is quite unique and left a deep impression on me.
大屋顶下/〈郑习会,谈什么?〉之二 默契心照 回到宪法说
dà wū dǐng xià zhèng xí huì , tán shén má ? zhī èr mò qì xīn zhào huí dào xiàn fǎ shuō
Under the big roof/"Zheng Xihui, what are you talking about?" 〉2 Tacit understanding Back to the Constitution
回顾转型正义10年 绿:出现新的对话契机
huí gù zhuǎn xíng zhèng yì 1 0 nián lǜ : chū xiàn xīn de duì huà qì jī
Looking back on 10 years of transitional justice Green: New opportunities for dialogue have emerged
...要给20%小费?美食家:制度虽不完美却默契
. . . yāo gěi 2 0 xiǎo fèi ? měi shí jiā : zhì dù suī bù wán měi què mò qì
... Want to tip 20%? Gourmet: Although the system is not perfect, it is tacit
美中变局契机 我应务实交流合作
měi zhōng biàn jú qì jī wǒ yīng wù shí jiāo liú gě zuò
The opportunity of changes between the United States and China I should be pragmatic in exchanges and cooperation
左营港务队偕领港高默契 精准控制军港内“路边停车”
zuǒ yíng gǎng wù duì 偕 lǐng gǎng gāo mò qì jīng zhǔn kòng zhì jūn gǎng nèi lù biān tíng chē
The Zuoying Port Team and the Pilot High Firm have a tacit understanding to accurately control the "roadside parking" in the military port
在他们的默契合作下，任务完美地完成了。
Zài tāmen de mòqì hézuò xià, rènwu wánměi de wánchéng le.
With their cooperation, the mission had been successfully finished.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 契 (qì) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 契 have?
What is the radical of 契?
What are common words containing 契?
What characters sound the same as 契 (qì)?
Is 契 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 契 with real-time feedback
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