TongTong
Sign in

交际 (jiāo jì) — to socialize; to communicate socially

Definition

交际 emphasizes face-to-face social mingling and relationship-building (parties, gatherings). 交流 is broader, for exchanging ideas or information; 应酬 leans into obligatory, business-driven socializing.

verb
to socializeto communicate socially

Examples

  • ，交际。
    Tā xìng gé kāi lǎng, hěn xǐ huan jiāo jì.
    He has an outgoing personality and really enjoys socializing.
  • 交际，。
    Tā bú tài huì jiāo jì, zǒng shì hěn hài xiū.
    She's not very good at socializing; she's always very shy.
  • 交际。
    Duō jiāo jì kě yǐ kuò dà nǐ de péng you quān.
    Socializing more can expand your circle of friends.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

交jiāocontact
际jìinteraction

交 and 际 both point to people meeting, together giving social interaction.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

交 originally drew a human with crossed legs. In the modern shape, the upper part resembles a standing person.

Open 交 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 際; 际 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
阝Written in full as阜fù
Sound part声符shēngfú
祭
祭jì際⁰jì
Same sound today

The traditional form 際 pairs 阝 with 祭: 阝 gives the meaning and 祭 gives the sound. The simplified 际 is a later shorthand.

Open 际 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 5Friends & Social

Browse more HSK 6 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.