笄 (jī) · a hairpin (used to fasten a bun or hold a cap in place)

Meanings

1 a hairpin (used to fasten a bun or hold a cap in place)
2 the age of fifteen, when a girl came of age (in ancient China)

Characters

笄

jī

hairpin; girl's coming-of-age at 15

Examples

HSK 5

古代女子十五岁行及笄之礼，表示成年。

Gǔdài nǚzǐ shíwǔ suì xíng jíjī zhī lǐ, biǎoshì chéngnián.

In ancient times a girl held a hairpin ceremony at fifteen to mark adulthood.

HSK 7-9

她用玉笄把头发盘成髻。

Tā yòng yù jī bǎ tóufa pán chéng jì.

She fixed her hair into a bun with a jade hairpin.

Tips

culture

Beyond the literal hairpin, 及笄 ('reaching the hairpin') is a classical term for a girl turning fifteen - old enough to pin up her hair and be considered a young woman ready for marriage. The bamboo radical recalls that early pins were made of bamboo.