戒 (jiè) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

戒

jiè[jie4]Tone 4

to warn, guard against, or give up

HSK 5

Guru Deep Dive

English · to warn, guard against, or give up

Cached lesson

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:7

Writing Balance Rule: Keep the left component (戈) slightly narrower and slanted, while the right component (廾) provides stable, balanced support on the bottom right.

1. Meaning

to guard against or warn

to give up or stop doing something (e.g. smoking or drinking)Buddhist monastic discipline or preceptsring worn on a finger

Verb / NounFormal / Literary#behavior#ethics#religion#jewelry

Sample Usage

吸烟有害健康，你应该戒烟。
Xīyān yǒuhài jiànkāng, nǐ yīnggāi jièyān.
Smoking is harmful to health; you should quit smoking.
戒骄戒躁
jiè jiāo jiè zào
guard against arrogance and rashness

2. Sound

/[t͡ɕi̯ɛ˥˩]/Tone: 51

戒

jièjie4

`(51)

=jiè

Initial Consonant

Type: Unaspirated Alveolo-Palatal

Sounds like: j as in 'jeep'

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: No air puff. Lips spread wide like smiling.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Blade of tongue raised against hard palate, air released quietly without a puff.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -e vowel group

Sounds like: rhymes with 'ye' in 'yes'

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

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

Tone

T4 (51)

5 → 1 (51)

4th Tone (High-Falling)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 4 starts high and drops immediately to the bottom, identical to a sharp, emphatic English 'No!' or 'Stop!'.

👂

Listening trap: Often confused with rising tones (Tone 2) or low dipping tones (Tone 3) by beginners who fail to drop the pitch steeply from the start.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A sharp, definitive downward chop of the hand, representing a strict warning or command.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 7 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: Keep the left component (戈) slightly narrower and slanted, while the right component (廾) provides stable, balanced support on the bottom right.

4. Components

Radical 戈 · Halberd radical (weapon, halberd)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 戈 (Represents a weapon or guarding tool, conveying the sense of defense and caution.)

Composed of two hands holding a weapon or a weapon (戈) paired with hands (廾), symbolizing standing on guard, armed and ready to fend off danger.

戈 Halberd / weapon, indicating defense and warning
廾 Two hands cupped together, indicating readiness or discipline

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

2· Phonetic Root: 戒 (jiè)

5. History

Liushu category: Compound ideogram (会意)

Origin: In Oracle Bone scripts, the character depicts a weapon (戈) combined with hands, illustrating someone holding a weapon to offer a warning or maintain strict vigilance against intruders.

Semantic Evolution: Originally meaning to hold a weapon defensively or issue a warning, it expanded to mean guarding against bad habits, giving things up (quitting), religious precepts, and eventually finger rings (as symbols of restriction or binding vows).

In Buddhism, 戒 refers to strict moral precepts and monastic discipline that protect monks from moral failing.
The word '戒指' (jièzhi, ring) comes from the historical use of rings given to imperial concubines to signal periods of abstinence.

6. Sinosphere

🇻🇳

Sino-Vietnamese

giới

The Sino-Vietnamese reading 'giới' matches the original Middle Chinese entering/falling register.

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: カイ (kai) / Kun: いまし.める (imashimeru)

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

계

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

You hold a weapon (戈) with both hands (廾) to **guard against** danger, issuing a strict **warning** to quit bad habits.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

械

xièmachinery, applianceAdd wood (木) to get wooden frame or machinery.

蚧

jiègeckoAdd insect (虫) to get the crawling gecko.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

界(jiè)

界 uses the field radical (田) on top representing boundaries, whereas 戒 uses a weapon (戈) representing defense.

或(huò)

或 has an enclosed box and a mouth/flag inside, meaning 'perhaps', whereas 戒 features a distinct weapon and hands.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

为了身体健康，他决定把烟酒都[___]了。

Clue: jiè

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing 戒 (jiè, to warn/quit) with 界 (jiè, border/world) due to their similar appearance and identical pinyin syllables.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see 戒, what core ideas of defense, warning, and quitting come to mind?

Production: How do you write the character for quitting smoking or alcohol (jiè), combining a weapon and hands?

戒jièto warn, guard against, or give up

Speed:

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