p8nda
p8nda BETA
Home Dictionary Translate Flashcards Sign in

杰

傑
jié
adjective #1,988

Meanings

  1. 1 hero
  2. 2 outstanding
  3. 3 prominent

Examples

杰出
Jiéchū
outstanding; remarkable
杰作
Jiézuò
masterpiece

Tips

memory
杰 = 木 (tree) over 灬 (fire dots) — picture a tree standing tall and bright above flames. The 'outstanding, prominent' meaning comes from the silhouette of one figure rising above the rest, originally a person towering over others in the traditional 傑.
usage
杰 is most common in names and compounds: 杰出 (jiéchū, outstanding), 英杰 (yīngjié, hero), 豪杰 (háojié, hero/great person). It's a popular character in Chinese personal names for boys.

Components

radical
木 mù
tree (radical)
Top tree radical — the indexing radical. In 杰 the tree perches over four-dot fire, sketching a tall tree standing above flames. Symbolically the tree-above-fire silhouette gives the 'outstanding, towering' sense. Strict etymology: simplified from 傑 (亻 + 桀), where 桀 shows two feet on a perch.
semantic
灬 huǒ
fire (bottom radical, variant of 火)
Bottom four-dot fire — the bottom-position form of 火. Here 灬 is the graphic descendant of the lower legs of 桀 (perched feet), repurposed as fire dots after simplification. Same shape sits under 热 hot, 烈 fierce, 煮 boil — though in 杰 'fire' is visual more than semantic.

Stroke Order

杰 jié