气 (qì): gas, air, smell, weather
气 (qì) is a Chinese character meaning “gas.” Classified as HSK Level 1 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 亻 (structural). It ranks #217 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 气 a person 亻 breathing air. Its radical form 气 (steam) appears in many related characters such as 氛 (fēn, miasma), 氧 (yǎng, oxygen (chemistry)).
Definitions
- gas
- air
- smell
- weather
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA person 亻 breathing air
Stroke Order
Practice writing 气 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 气
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 生气verb | shēng qì | to get angry | 3 |
| 客气adjective/verb | kè qi | polite | 4 |
| 不客气 | bù kè qi | you're welcome | 1 |
| 运气noun | yùn qi | luck (good or bad) | 5 |
| 空气noun | kōng qì | air | 4 |
| 天气noun | tiān qì | weather | 1 |
| 勇气noun | yǒng qì | courage | 5 |
| 气氛noun | qì fēn | atmosphere | 6 |
| 脾气noun | pí qi | character | 4 |
| 力气noun | lì qi | physical strength | 4 |
| 气味noun | qì wèi | odor | 6 |
| 氧气noun | yǎng qì | oxygen | 6 |
| 语气noun | yǔ qì | tone | 5 |
| 气球noun | qì qiú | balloon | 5 |
| 气体noun | qì tǐ | gas (i.e. gaseous substance) | 6 |
| 气质noun | qì zhì | personality traits | 6 |
| 淘气adjective | táo qì | naughty | 6 |
| 气候noun | qì hòu | (meteorology) climate | 4 |
| 暖气noun | nuǎn qì | central heating | 6 |
| 名气noun | míng qi | reputation | 6 |
| 小气adjective | xiǎo qì | stingy | 6 |
| 气温noun | qì wēn | air temperature | 4 |
| 天然气noun | tiān rán qì | natural gas | 6 |
| 一口气adverb | yī kǒu qì | one breath | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 毒气 | dú qì | poison gas |
| 口气 | kǒu qì | tone of voice |
| 喘气 | chuǎn qì | to breathe deeply |
| 大气 | dà qì | atmosphere (surrounding the earth) |
| 充气 | chōng qì | to pump air (into sth) |
| 臭气 | chòu qì | stench |
| 打气 | dǎ qì | to inflate |
气 appears in 100 compound words: 7 as the first character, 93 as the last, and 0 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 气 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (68)
Showing 12 of 68 idioms containing 气.
Example Sentences
了解气字的来源，有助于理解中国文化。
le xiè qì zì de lái yuán , yǒu zhù yú lǐ xiè zhōng guó wén huā .
Understanding the origin of the character "气" (qi) helps to comprehend Chinese culture.
眼镜店老板:钦佩神韵揭露迫害的勇气和智慧
yǎn jìng diàn lǎo bǎn : qīn pèi shén yùn jiē lù pò hài de yǒng qì hé zhì huì
Optical shop owner: Admire Shen Yun's courage and wisdom in exposing persecution
仙气调酒喝下肚小心胃穿孔 警:最惨丧命
xiān qì diào jiǔ hē xià dù xiǎo xīn wèi chuān kǒng jǐng : zuì cǎn sāng mìng
Fairy cocktail drink, be careful of stomach perforation Police: The most tragic death
应对川普 我要守住底气
yīng duì chuān pǔ wǒ yāo shǒu zhù de qì
Dealing with Trump, I have to hold on to my confidence
麦当劳2.23起推全新人气着数套餐 脆辣鸡腿饱餐首次加入 黄泽林首...
mài dāng láo 2 . 2 3 qǐ tuī quán xīn rén qì zhe shǔ tào cān cuì là jī tuǐ bǎo cān shǒu cì jiā rù huáng zé lín shǒu . . .
McDonald's launches a new popular set meal from 2.23 Crispy and spicy chicken thighs to the full meal for the first time Huang Zelin first...
“贵州烟火气·黔味中国年”天眼纪录·回家|开往春天....
guì zhōu yān huǒ qì 黔 wèi zhōng guó nián tiān yǎn jì lù huí jiā kāi wǎng chūn tiān . . . .
"Guizhou Fireworks and Qianwei Chinese Year" Tianyan Record Home|Drive to Spring....
纽约的天气怎么样？
Niǔyuē de tiānqì zěnmeyàng?
How's the weather in New York?
你不觉得这房里的冷气太强了吗？
Nǐ bù juéde zhè fáng lǐ de lěngqì tài qiáng le ma?
Don't you think the air conditioner is turned up too high in here?
想出去呼吸一下新鲜空气吗？
Xiǎngchū qù hūxī yīxià xīnxiān kōngqì ma?
Wouldn't you like to get some fresh air?
你有没有发现他说话的语气有点古怪？
Nǐ yǒuméiyǒu fāxiàn tā shuōhuà de yǔqì yǒudiǎn gǔguài?
Did you pick up on that strange tone in his voice?
Character Family
气 Radical Family — Characters sharing the steam radical
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 气 (qì) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 气 have?
What is the radical of 气?
What are the components of 气?
What are common words containing 气?
What characters sound the same as 气 (qì)?
Is 气 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 气 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.