积 (jī) · to accumulate; to store up

Meanings

1 to accumulate; to store up
2 product (in math)
3 long-standing

Characters

积

jī

to accumulate; to store up

Examples

HSK 1

三和四的积是十二。

Sān hé sì de jī shì shí'èr.

The product of three and four is twelve.

HSK 4

他积累了很多经验。

Tā jīlěi le hěnduō jīngyàn.

He has accumulated a lot of experience.

Tips

usage

积 appears in 积极 (positive/active), 积累 (to accumulate), 面积 (area/size), 积分 (points/integral), 堆积 (to pile up).

Components

radical

禾 hé

grain; standing cereal plant

Grain radical on the left, the indexing component. The original 积 referred to piling up harvested grain - accumulation, season after season - which then generalised to any stacking up or building up. The 禾 link keeps 积 alongside 秋 autumn and 种 plant in the grain family.

phonetic

只 zhī

only; one of a pair

Right side 只 is the simplified phonetic; the traditional 積 used 責. The simplified reform swapped in 只 for a cleaner shape, but it no longer matches the sound jī. Treat the right side as a stand-in shape, and pin the jī reading by association with 集 gather.