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知己 (zhī jǐ) — (noun) intimate friend, bosom friend; (adjective) intimate, close (of friendship)

Definition

知己 is both a person (an intimate, bosom friend) and an adjective describing that kind of deep friendship. Stronger than 亲 or 亲密, which describe general closeness; 知己 implies someone who truly understands you.

noun
intimate friendbosom friend
adjective
intimateclose (of friendship)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 知己。
    Rén shēng nán dé yì zhī jǐ.
    A bosom friend is hard to come by in life.
  • 知己。
    Tā shì wǒ zuì zhī jǐ de péng you.
    He is my most intimate friend.
  • 知己。
    Zhēn zhèng de zhī jǐ huì zài nǐ xū yào shí chū xiàn.
    A true bosom friend will show up when you need them.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

知zhīknow
己jǐoneself

知 (know) and 己 (oneself) give one who knows oneself, hence a close friend.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

An early form of 知 showed 大 (adult), 口 (mouth), and 子 (child): an adult speaking to a child to pass on knowledge. The 子 part was dropped, and the 大 part changed shape.

Open 知 →

A 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.

Open 己 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Friends & Social

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