How to write 妻 (qī, “wife”)
妻, an HSK 2 character, is read qī for “wife”, and also qì (“to marry off”). It is HSK 2 in the 2025 syllabus, down from level 4 in the 2021 standard. As a top-bottom character it splits into 十彐, strokes 1–5; 女 (“female”, the radical), strokes 6–8, written the top first. It is part of the HSK word 妻子 (“wife”), and of 人妻 (“married woman”) and 休妻 (“to repudiate one's wife”). Japanese reads it sai, “wife”, as a JLPT N3 kanji.
- Pinyin
- qī, qì
- Strokes
- 8
- HSK
- 2
- Radical
- 女 (“female”)
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- Horizontal ㇐top leftrightwards
- Horizontal-turn ㇕top leftrightwards → downwards
- Horizontal ㇐leftrightwards
- Horizontal ㇐leftrightwards
- Vertical ㇑topdownwards
- Left-falling then dot ㇛centerdown and left → down and right
- Left-falling stroke ㇒centerdown and left → leftwards
- Horizontal ㇐leftrightwards
Japanese and Chinese
Japanese and Chinese draw all 8 strokes in the same order and direction, by our stroke-by-stroke comparison.
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Pinyin and meaning
| Pinyin | Meanings | Traditional | In words |
|---|---|---|---|
| qī first tone | (bound form) wife | — | 妻子 夫妻 人妻 休妻 |
| qì fourth tone | to marry off (a daughter) | — | — |
- HSK 2025 syllabus
- level 2
- 2021 standard
- level 4
- HSK 2.0
- in a level 2 word
- Words with it
- 42 in CC-CEDICT
Words with 妻
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 妻子 | qīzi | wife HSK 2 |
| 夫妻 | fūqī | husband and wife; married couple HSK 3 |
| 人妻 | rénqī | married woman; wife |
| 休妻 | xiūqī | to repudiate one's wife |
| 前妻 | qiánqī | ex-wife; late wife |
| 妻儿 妻兒 | qīér | wife and child |
| 妻小 | qīxiǎo | wife and children; wife |
| 正妻 | zhèngqī | primary wife; legal wife |
| 妻室 | qīshì | wife |
| 夫妻店 | fūqīdiàn | family-run shop |
HSK words first (CC-CEDICT).
Practice sheet
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Keep going
HSK 2, in list order: