尺 (chǐ): ruler

Meanings

1 ruler
2 Chinese foot (unit of length, about 33.3 cm)

Characters

尺

chǐ

ruler; Chinese foot (about 33.3 cm)

A pictograph of a ruler or measuring stick, one of the oldest measurement terms in Chinese.

Examples

你有尺吗？

Nǐ yǒu chǐ ma?

Do you have a ruler?

这块布有三尺长。

Zhè kuài bù yǒu sān chǐ cháng.

This piece of fabric is three chi long.

Tips

culture

一尺 (one chi) is about 33.3 cm, a third of a meter. It is still used in traditional Chinese tailoring and architecture.

register

A separate reading chě is a note name in old 工尺 musical notation (the 工尺谱 system). Outside that single specialist context, always read chǐ.

Components

radical

尸 shī

body; reclining figure (radical)

Outer 尸 is a person leaning or reclining, a slumped torso with one curved limb, and the indexing radical here. 尺 was originally a rod measured against the body (knee to heel was one chi), so 尸 captures the human shape the unit came from. The same radical sits in 尾, 居, 屋, 尽.

ideograph

乚 yǐ

hooked stroke; mark

A single hooked stroke flicking out from under 尸, an abstract marker for where the measure stops, the notch scratched on the rod. It turns the leaning body into a measuring tool and functions purely as a positional indicator inside 尺.