期 (qī) · period; stage; phase

Meanings

1 period; stage; phase
2 issue (of a publication); term; semester
3 to expect; to hope
4 measure word for issues of a periodical and phases of a project or course

Characters

期

qī

period; phase; to expect; issue (of a magazine)

Contains 其 (its) + 月 (moon) - the moon marks periods of time.

Examples

HSK 4

这本杂志的最新一期出来了。

Zhè běn zázhì de zuìxīn yì qī chūlái le.

The latest issue of this magazine is out.

HSK 4

这个学期我要好好学习。

Zhè gè xuéqī wǒ yào hǎohǎo xuéxí.

I will study hard this semester.

HSK 5

项目进入了第二期。

Xiàngmù jìnrù le dì'èr qī.

The project has entered its second phase.

Tips

usage

期 is used as a measure word for issues/installments: 第一期 (first issue), and as a suffix in time words: 学期 (semester), 日期 (date), 星期 (week), 长期 (long-term), 短期 (short-term).

usage

期待 (qīdài) means 'to look forward to' and 期望 (qīwàng) means 'to hope/expect' - both from the meaning of 期 as 'to expect.'

Components

radical

月 yuè

moon; month

Right indexing moon radical - the moon was the original calendar, marking periods by its phases. A 月 is a month, and 期 (a fixed period) takes its name from the same celestial reckoning. This is the moon 月, not the flesh variant used in body-part characters; here it sits proudly on the right.

phonetic

其 qí

its; that (here phonetic)

Left 其 supplies the sound - qí → qī, only tone differs. Same phonetic body in 棋 (chess), 旗 (flag), 欺 (deceive) - a tightly clustered qí / qī family. The 'its / that' meaning of 其 doesn't carry; pure phonetic shell.