己 (jǐ) — (bound form) self, oneself; (bound form) the 6th Heavenly Stem (used in traditional calendar and astrology)
Definition
A bound morpheme meaning 'self' or 'one's own' — it appears only inside compounds like 自己, 己见, or 知己, never as a stand-alone word. In traditional calendrical/astrological contexts it names the 6th Heavenly Stem.
bound form
selfoneselfthe 6th Heavenly Stem (used in traditional calendar and astrology)
Easily confused
- 已yǐlook-alikealready (formal, written)
- 几jǐsound-alike(interrogative) how many; how much
- 巳sìlook-alikethe sixth of the twelve Earthly Branches (地支), associated with the Snake and the time period 9–11 AM
- 挤jǐsound-alike(verb) to squeeze, to press; to crowd in
- 纪jǐsound-alike(proper noun) a surname
- 济jǐsound-alikebound form used in place names, originally referring to the Ji River (Shandong)
Examples
- 。Nǐ yīng gāi xiāng xìn zì jǐ.You should believe in yourself.
- ，。Tā jiān chí jǐ jiàn, bù kěn ràng bù.He insisted on his own opinion and refused to back down.
- 己。jǐ Shì tiān gān zhōng pái dì liù wèi de.Ji is the sixth one among the Heavenly Stems.
Origin
Pictograph六书liùshū
象形xiàngxíngA drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.
The 己 shape is a picture of a silk rope used to bind objects.
Appears in
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