Character: 七 (qī) seven

七 (qī) means seven, the character is visualized as a hook with a line cutting it in half
Pinyin qī
Meaning seven; 7
Radical 一 繁體字 same
n/a
Chinese character rebuscategory: rebusChinese character single structurestructure: single

2stroke count

HSK 1

Chinese character 七 (qī) seven stroke order

Breakdown

Originally, 七 (qī) was an ideograph that intended to mean “to cut,” where the horizontal stroke 一 cuts through the hook 乚. Later, 七 (qī) was borrowed to mean “seven,” as the word for “to cut” sounded similar to “seven” in ancient Chinese. Nowadays, the component for “knife” 刀 (dāo) is added to 七 (qī) to form the character 切 (qiē) “to cut.”

Used as a morpheme/word

Wordlist

How to pronounce

This character sounds like chee, as in “cheese,” but pronounced with unrounded lips.

1st Pinyin Yale IPA
Initial q- ch [tɕʰ]
Final -i i [i]

Chinese character practice sheet

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