惕 (tì) — (bound form) vigilant, watchful, cautious

Definition

惕 (tì) is a bound morph — it only appears paired with 警 as 警惕, meaning 'vigilant, on guard'. On its own you cannot use it as a standalone word.

bound form

vigilantwatchfulcautious

Easily confused

，。
Miàn duì qián zài de wēi xiǎn, wǒ men bì xū bǎo chí jǐng tì.
Facing potential danger, we must remain vigilant.
，。
Tā shí kè bǎo chí jǐng tì, yǐ fáng yì wài fā shēng.
He stays vigilant at all times to prevent accidents.
。
Jǐng tì xìng gāo de rén wǎng wǎng néng bì miǎn hěn duō fēng xiǎn.
People with high vigilance can often avoid many risks.

Sound + meaning

六书liùshū

形声xíngshēng

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

忄易惕

Meaning part形符xíngfú

忄Written in full as心xīn

Sound part声符shēngfú

易

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

惕 is built from 忄, the heart form 心, which points to a mental state, and 易, which supplies the sound.