jǐn
adjective/adverb #9,433

Meanings

  1. 1 careful; cautious; prudent
  2. 2 respectfully; sincerely (in formal writing)

Examples

Jǐn yǐcǐ shū xiàngěi wǒ de fùmǔ.
I respectfully dedicate this book to my parents.
Tā zuòshì yīxiàng jǐnxiǎoshènwēi.
He has always been extremely careful in everything he does.
Jǐn dàibiǎo quántǐ yuángōng biǎoshì gǎnxiè.
I sincerely express gratitude on behalf of all staff.

Tips

register
is a formal/literary character. In everyday Chinese, you'll encounter it in compounds like 谨慎 (jǐnshèn, cautious) and 严谨 (yánjǐn, rigorous). Standalone appears mainly in formal letters and dedications.

Components

radical
yán
speech (radical form of 言)
The speech radical on the left tells us is about words spoken with care — guarded, weighed, respectful. It indexes with the speech family: say, word, thank, forgive, plan — all verbs of measured communication.
phonetic
jǐn
little; clay (here phonetic)
supplies the sound jǐn unchanged. It originally pictured a person scorched by fire over clay — a parched, scarce quality. That sense of scarcity gives a faint semantic flavour of restraint and frugality, matching 谨慎 cautious. Same phonetic in diligent, only, itself.

Stroke Order

jǐn