戟

jǐ
noun #22,629

Measure Word

一把戟 bǎ

Meanings

  1. 1 halberd
  2. 2 ji - a Chinese pole weapon combining a spear and a battle-axe

Examples

HSK 6
Fāngtiān-huàjǐ shì Sānguó shíqī Lǚ Bù de wǔqì.
The painted halberd (fangtian huaji) was the weapon of Lu Bu during the Three Kingdoms period.
HSK 7-9
Jǐ shì gǔdài zhànchǎng shàng chángyòng de chángbǐng wǔqì.
The ji halberd was a commonly used pole weapon on ancient battlefields.

Tips

history
The 戟 (ji) was a signature weapon of Chinese antiquity, combining a spear point with a lateral blade. The famous 方天画戟 (Painted Heavenly Halberd) is associated with the warrior 吕布 in Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Components

radical
戈 gē
dagger-axe; weapon
Right dagger-axe radical - the indexing radical, a pictograph of a long-handled blade with a hook. Anchors 戟 in the weapon family: 战 war, 戎 armed force, 戍 garrison, 戒 guard. Marks it as a specific weapon - the halberd, a spear-axe hybrid made famous by 吕布.
semantic
龺 gàn
sunrise above land (graphic top of 朝/戟)
Left compound shape - historically a stylized fusion of 十 (axe-head marker) above a sun-and-tree graph, depicting the haft and cross-piece of a halberd. The same graphic element tops 朝 morning. Here it carries the shaft-with-blade picture: a long pole with a sideways cutting edge mounted near the top, the defining silhouette of the ancient Chinese ji halberd.

Stroke Order

戟 jǐ