p8nda
p8nda BETA
Home Dictionary Translate Flashcards Sign in

器

qì
noun #1,476

Meanings

  1. 1 device; instrument; tool
  2. 2 utensil; vessel
  3. 3 organ (body)

Examples

这个机器坏了。
Zhège jīqì huài le.
This machine is broken.
他是一个大器晚成的人。
Tā shì yīgè dà qì wǎn chéng de rén.
He is a late bloomer.
乐器你会弹哪种？
Yuèqì nǐ huì tán nǎ zhǒng?
Which musical instrument can you play?

Tips

usage
器 is used in: 机器 (machine), 乐器 (musical instrument), 器官 (organ), 武器 (weapon), 容器 (container), 器材 (equipment). The idiom 大器晚成 (great talents mature late) is widely used.

Components

radical
口 kǒu
mouth; vessel
Top-left 口 — one of four 口 in 器, also the indexing radical. Each of the four mouths represents a vessel or container; together they ring the central 犬 like four pots arrayed for guarding. The radical anchors 器 in the vessel-and-implement family alongside 嚣 (clamor), 吕 (paired). Top-left position fills the upper row with the bottom-left.
semantic
口 kǒu
mouth; vessel
Top-right 口 — the second of the four vessels, paired with the top-left across the central spine. Together they cap the dog beneath. The reduplication is meaningful: a household has many vessels, hence 器 means 'utensils, instruments, equipment' generally rather than a single tool.
semantic
犬 quǎn
dog
Center 犬 — the dog standing guard among the four vessels. The traditional reading: a household's worth of pots and vessels watched over by the family dog, a vivid picture of 'utensils, equipment, the things one possesses.' From this concrete image the meaning stretched to 'instrument, capacity, talent' (大器晚成).
semantic
口 kǒu
mouth; vessel
Bottom-left 口 — the third vessel, mirroring the top-left below the central dog. The fourfold repetition turns 'a mouth' into 'mouths of all kinds,' emphasizing variety and number. Same compositional move as 品 (three mouths = quality through abundance).
semantic
口 kǒu
mouth; vessel
Bottom-right 口 — the fourth and final vessel, completing the symmetric ring of four around the dog. The full picture is unforgettable: four pots, four corners, one watchdog at the center — a complete inventory of household 器具 (implements). This visual idea is why learners remember 器 even at 16 strokes.

Stroke Order

器 qì