其 (qí) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

其

qí[qi2]Tone 2

its

HSK 2

Guru Deep Dive

English · its

Cached lesson

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Topology:Single character

Strokes:8

Writing Balance Rule: Keep the horizontal lines evenly spaced and parallel, with the bottom two 'legs' (or strokes) flaring outward symmetrically to give the character a stable base.

1. Meaning

its, his, her, their (possessive pronoun / particle)

that, such (demonstrative)he, she, it (classical third-person pronoun)

Pronoun / ParticleLiterary / FormalBound morpheme#grammar#pronouns#literary

Sample Usage

极其重要
jí qí zhòng yào
extremely important
各得其所
gè dé qí suǒ
each gets what it desires / to each his proper place

2. Sound

/[t͡ɕʰi²¹⁴⁻³⁵]/Tone: 35

其

qíqi2

´(35)

=qí

Initial Consonant

Type: Aspirated Alveolo-Palatal

Sounds like: ch sound produced with tongue blade against the lower teeth and air hissing through the upper palate

Aspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Extremely strong burst of breath! Tissue held before mouth MUST fly.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue blade is raised toward the hard palate, teeth close together, forcefully expelling air.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -i vowel group

Sounds like: ee sound as in 'see'

Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'ee'.

Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.

Tone

T2 (35)

3 → 5 (35)

2nd Tone (Mid-Rising)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 2 rises from middle to high, mirroring an upward questioning inflection in English.

Sandhi: When followed by another Tone 3, it changes to a rising tone (Tone 2), though it is frequently unstressed or used as a modifier.

👂

Listening trap: Do not confuse it with qì (Tone 4, falling), which sounds much sharper and drops off quickly.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Start at a medium-low pitch and sweep your hand upward sharply, exactly like asking a surprised 'Huh?'

3. Writing

Topology: Single character · Strokes: 8 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: Keep the horizontal lines evenly spaced and parallel, with the bottom two 'legs' (or strokes) flaring outward symmetrically to give the character a stable base.

4. Components

Radical 八 · Eight Radical (dividing, splitting, or the number eight)

Originally depicted a winnowing basket (similar to 其), with supporting lines added over time. Visually, think of a flat top roof, a middle section with two horizontal shelves, and two legs walking away.

一 Top horizontal line
甘 Middle box-like container holding items
八 Bottom legs supporting the structure

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

17· Phonetic Root: 其 (qí)

5. History

Liushu category: Pictogram (象形)

Origin: Originally an image of a winnowing basket (a tool used to separate grain from chaff). Over time, the character was borrowed (phonetic loan) to serve as a pronoun, while a new character (箕) was created for the physical basket.

Semantic Evolution: From meaning a winnowing basket, it shifted entirely to grammatical utility as a possessive pronoun ('his/her/its') and a demonstrative particle in classical Chinese.

It is one of the most common grammatical particles in Classical Chinese texts.
The bottom 'legs' of the modern character evolved from the handle and base of the ancient basket drawing.

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: キ / Kun: その

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

기

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

Picture a winnowing basket ('其') sorting out grain. Because it belongs to the farmer, it holds 'his', 'her', and 'its' harvested crops.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

期

qīperiod of timeAdded the moon/flesh radical (月) on the left to indicate cycles of time.

基

jīfoundationAdded the earth radical (土) at the bottom to represent foundational ground.

棋

qíchess / board gameAdded the wood radical (木) on the left because traditional chess pieces and boards are made of wood.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

甚(shèn)

甚 has a vertical hook and slight differences inside; 其 has two distinct slanting legs at the bottom.

斯(sī)

斯 includes an axe component on the left, making it much wider than the compact character 其.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

这本书[___]内容非常丰富。

Clue: qí

Common Learner Pitfall

Treating '其' as a standalone personal pronoun in modern spoken Chinese. In modern Mandarin, it is mostly restricted to literary phrases, idioms, or formal compounds like 极其 (extremely) and 其中 (among them), rather than standing alone as 'he' or 'she'.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see 其 in formal text or idioms, what does it typically mean?

Production: How do you write the possessive/literary particle 'its/his' pronounced qí?

其qíits

Speed:

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