麒 (qí) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

麒

qí[qi2]Tone 2

used in 麒麟 (qílín, Qilin/mythical Chinese unicorn)

Guru Deep Dive

English · used in 麒麟 (qílín, Qilin/mythical Chinese unicorn)

Cached lesson

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:19

Writing Balance Rule: The left side (鹿 deer) is slightly narrower and taller, while the right side (其 its) occupies the broader right half, ensuring both halves harmonize without crowding.

1. Meaning

male qilin (mythical hooved chimerical beast)

rare talent or brilliant youthauspicious sign

bound morpheme / nounLiteraryBound morpheme#mythology#folklore#animals

Sample Usage

麒麟
qí lín
Qilin (mythical Chinese unicorn / auspicious beast)
凤毛麒麟
fèng máo qí lín
phoenix feathers and Qilin horns (extremely rare and precious things)

2. Sound

/[tɕʰi²³⁵]/Tone: 35

麒

qíqi2

´(35)

=qí

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: Aspirated Alveolo-Palatal

Sounds like: ch sound produced with tongue flat against lower teeth

Aspirated

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

Tongue & Mouth Position: Blade of the tongue presses against the lower gum line while the middle of the tongue rises toward the hard palate, releasing a crisp burst of 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 pitch, exactly matching an English speaker's upward inflection when asking 'What?' in disbelief.

Sandhi: When followed by another Tone 2, it shifts slightly to a half-rising contour before pausing, but maintains its rising 35 direction.

👂

Listening trap: Do not confuse with the unaspirated initial 'j' (as in jī); 'q' requires a strong puff of air.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Start at a medium pitch and sweep your hand upward and to the right, mimicking a rising question mark.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 19 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left side (鹿 deer) is slightly narrower and taller, while the right side (其 its) occupies the broader right half, ensuring both halves harmonize without crowding.

4. Components

Radical 鹿 · Deer Radical (deer, quadruped animals)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 鹿 (indicates that this is a large, majestic four-legged beast)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 其 (original sound: qí)

The majestic Deer (鹿) standing tall next to its phonetic partner 'Its' (其) creates the rare, mythical beast 麒 (qí).

鹿 Left semantic component representing a deer-like body
其 Right phonetic component providing the sound 'qí'

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

17· Phonetic Root: 其 (qí)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Combined from the deer radical (鹿) for large horned animals and the phonetic component (其), originally coined to describe the legendary male Qilin.

Semantic Evolution: Has remained almost exclusively tied to the mythological Qilin beast throughout Chinese literary history.

The Qilin is traditionally depicted as a gentle, benevolent creature whose appearance signals the birth or passing of a sage.

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: キ

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

기

Sound Shift Bridge: Shared East Asian literary vocabulary root for the mythical beast.

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

A majestic **Deer** (鹿) with sparkling antlers stands proudly on **its** (其) magical cloud, revealing itself to be the legendary **Qilin** (麒).

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

其

qíitsPhonetic Core (声旁)

期

qīvariant of 期[qi1]; period+ 月 (moon)

基

jībase; foundation+ 土 (earth)

旗

qíflag; variant of 旗[qi2]+ 方 (square)

Explore this family →

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

棋(qí)

棋 has the wood radical (木) for chess pieces, whereas 麒 has the massive deer radical (鹿) for the mythical beast.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

传说中的[___]rlin象征着吉祥和繁荣。

Clue: qí

Common Learner Pitfall

Mistaking the complex 19-stroke deer radical (鹿) for a simpler animal radical or forgetting the phonetic component 其 on the right.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see the deer radical combined with 其, what sound and primary compound does it form?

Production: How do you write the first character of 'qílín' (the mythical Qilin beast) using the deer radical?

麒qíused in 麒麟 (qílín, Qilin/mythical Chinese unicorn)

Speed:

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