汲 (jí): to draw (water)

Meanings

1 to draw (water)
2 to fetch (water from a well)

Characters

汲

jí

to draw water

Examples

HSK 4

我们应该汲取历史的教训。

Wǒmen yīnggāi jíqǔ lìshǐ de jiàoxun.

We should draw lessons from history.

HSK 6

她每天去井边汲水。

Tā měitiān qù jǐngbiān jí shuǐ.

She goes to the well every day to draw water.

Tips

usage

汲 alone means to draw water; the compound 汲取 extends this to absorbing knowledge, experience, or lessons - far more common in modern usage.

memory

The character shows water (氵) on the left and 及 (to reach) on the right - picture reaching down into water to pull it up.

Components

radical

氵 shuǐ

water (radical form of 水)

Three-drops water on the left - indexes 汲 in the liquid family with 河, 池, 沉. 汲 means to draw water from a well - to pull a bucket up through depth - so the radical names what is being lifted. The compound captures the whole action: water + the reaching hand of 及.

phonetic

及 jí

to reach; to attain

Right side 及 supplies the sound jí exactly. 及 itself pictures a hand reaching out to grab a fleeing person from behind - the original semantic gives 'reach, catch up to' - and that grasping gesture also reinforces 汲's well-rope action. Same phonetic in 极 extreme, 级 grade, 圾 trash.