径

徑
jìng
noun #24,888

Meanings

  1. 1 path; trail
  2. 2 diameter
  3. 3 directly

Examples

HSK 3
Huāyuánlǐ yǒu yìtiáo xiǎojìng.
There is a small path in the garden.
HSK 5
Zhège yuán de zhíjìng shì shí límǐ.
The diameter of this circle is ten centimeters.

Tips

usage
径 is in 直径 (diameter), 半径 (radius), 途径 (way/channel), 小径 (path/trail), and 径直 (directly/straight).

Components

radical
彳 chì
step (radical form)
Left step radical - a small footstep, the side form of 行 'walk.' It indexes 径 in the family of path and motion characters: 行 go, 往 toward, 待 wait, 微 subtle, 徒 follower. Anything written with 彳 on the left is, at root, about moving along a road on foot.
phonetic
又 yòu
hand; again
Top-right 又 sits where traditional 徑 had the full 巠 phonetic. In the 1956 simplification 巠 was contracted to 又 stacked over 工, preserving the silhouette but shortening the writing. Together 又+工 still carries the phonetic role, supplying the sound jīng → jìng for the parent.
phonetic
工 gōng
work; craft
Bottom-right 工 - the second half of the contracted 巠 phonetic. Standalone 工 pictures a carpenter's square; here it has no semantic role of its own, only completing the phonetic frame. The same 又+工 contraction pattern appears in 经 (warp), 轻 (light), 颈 (neck).

Stroke Order

径 jìng