verb

Meanings

  1. 1 (classical) to stand on tiptoe; to crane upward
  2. 2 (classical) an extra sixth toe (read qí)

Examples

很多年掌握这门技术
Tā huā le hěnduōnián cái zhǎngwò zhèmén jìshù.
He has spent many years mastering this skill.

Tips

history
No standalone use in modern Chinese. It carries several classical readings: qǐ "to stand on tiptoe / yearn", qí "a sixth toe", and jī "foot". It is the foot radical plus phonetic .
register
Classical and literary only; seen in texts such as the 荀子 and old commentaries, not in speech.

Components

radical
foot; leg
The foot radical on the left. It carries the meaning, tying the character to actions of the feet such as standing on tiptoe, the same family as and .
phonetic
zhī
branch; to prop; phonetic
Supplies the sound, which has drifted across the readings qǐ, qí and jī. The same phonetic appears in and ; it lends sound, not meaning.

Stroke Order