季 (jì) · season; quarter

Meanings

1 season; quarter
2 the last month of a season
3 youngest brother

Characters

季

jì

season; quarter

Examples

HSK 1

一年有四季。

Yī nián yǒu sìjì.

A year has four seasons.

HSK 2

雨季快到了。

Yǔjì kuài dào le.

The rainy season is coming soon.

HSK 5

这是第三季的最后一集。

Zhè shì dìsān jì de zuìhòu yī jí.

This is the last episode of season three.

Tips

usage

季 is used for TV show seasons (第一季, season 1), sports seasons, and weather seasons. For the four seasons: 春季, 夏季, 秋季, 冬季.

Components

radical

子 zǐ

child (radical)

Bottom child radical - the indexing radical. Originally 季 meant 'youngest sibling' (born late in the cycle, like the late grain), anchoring the birth-order sense. The 'season, quarter' meaning extends from 'last in the cycle' to 'part of the cycle.' Same radical in 学, 孩, 孙.

semantic

禾 hé

standing grain (semantic)

Top grain - pictographically a head of ripe grain bending over with weight. Anchors 季 within the agricultural cycle: seasons in classical China were named by the grain's stage (春耕夏耘秋收冬藏 - plough in spring, weed in summer, harvest in autumn, store in winter). The grain is the timekeeper.