祭 (jì) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

祭

jì[ji4]Tone 4

offer sacrifice

HSK 7

Multiple Readings (多音字):

Guru Deep Dive

English · offer sacrifice

Cached lesson

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Topology:Top-bottom

Strokes:11

Writing Balance Rule: Keep the top components compact and let the bottom part (示) spread steadily to anchor the character.

1. Meaning

to offer a sacrifice to (gods or ancestors)

to recite an incantation to activate a magic weaponto wield something magicalceremony(Taiwan) festival

VerbFormal#religion#culture#tradition#action

Sample Usage

中国人过清明节时会祭祖。
zhōng guó rén guò qīng míng jié shí huì jì zǔ.
Chinese people offer sacrifices to their ancestors during the Qingming Festival.
他祭出了一手法宝。
tā jì chū le yī shǒu fǎ bǎo.
He whipped out and unleashed a magical treasure.

2. Sound

/[t͡ɕi⁵¹]/Tone: 51

祭

jìji4

`(51)

=jì

Build the syllable

Step-by-step blending

Tone mark placement: Tone mark sits on "i" per main-vowel priority (a > e > o; in -iu/-ui the mark takes the second vowel).

Initial Consonant

Type: Unaspirated Alveolo-Palatal

Sounds like: j sound as in jeep

Unaspirated

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

Tongue & Mouth Position: Blade of the tongue touches the hard palate, air releases softly without a puff.

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

T4 (51)

5 → 1 (51)

4th Tone (High-Falling)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 4 starts high and plunges straight down, just like expressing a firm command or saying 'No!' in English.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the 4th tone drop with Tone 1 or Tone 3 due to hasty pronunciation.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A sharp, decisive karate chop downward, matching the quick drop from high to low pitch.

3. Writing

Topology: Top-bottom · Strokes: 11 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: Keep the top components compact and let the bottom part (示) spread steadily to anchor the character.

4. Components

Radical 示 · Spirit Radical (Altar, spirits, deities)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 示 (Indicates religious rites and offerings to spirits)

Ancient pictograph combining a hand holding a piece of meat over an altar table (示), showing an offering to the divine.

⺼ Fleisch / meat offering
又 Hand reaching out
示 Altar / divine spirit

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

6· Phonetic Root: 祭 (zhài)

5. History

Liushu category: Compound ideogram (会意)

Origin: Oracle bone script shows a hand holding meat (or a sacrificial animal part) over an altar table, depicting a religious ritual.

Semantic Evolution: Originally meant presenting offerings to ancestors or gods. Modern extensions include magical activation in fantasy literature ('wielding' a weapon like an offering).

Sacrifice and rituals (祭祀) were of paramount importance in ancient Chinese statecraft.

6. Sinosphere

🇻🇳

Sino-Vietnamese

tế

Sắc tone in Vietnamese corresponds to the sharp falling pitch of Chinese Tone 4.

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: サイ (sai) / Kun: まつ.る (matsuru)

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

제

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

With a hand (又) holding meat (⺼) over the altar (示), you offer a sacred sacrifice (jì) to the ancestors.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

察

chávariant of 察[cha2]+ 宀 (roof)

傺

chìto detain; to hinder+ 亻 (person)

瘵

zhài(literary) disease (esp. tuberculosis)+ 疒 (sickness)

縩

càisee 綷縩[cui4 cai4]+ 糹 (silk)

Explore this family →

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

蔡(cài)

Adds the grass radical (艹) on top, referring to a surname.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

清明节时，许多人会去墓地[___]祖。

Clue: jì

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the bottom component 示 with 衣 (flesh/meat and hand vs clothing radical).

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What does the character 祭 mean and how is it pronounced with tone?

Production: How do you write the character for offering sacrifices (jì)?

祭jìoffer sacrifice

Speed:

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