九 (jiǔ) means "nine" with HSK 1 on the new exam.
Pronunciation
Meaning
Primary: nine
Etymology
Oracle-bone origin
The oracle-bone form of 九 depicts a hand or arm with the elbow bent sharply, or according to some paleographers a hooked shape representing a crooked limb. The character was borrowed very early for the number nine through phonetic loan, since the original 'elbow' word was homophonous with the numeral. The meaning 'elbow' itself was later written with the added flesh radical as 肘.
Form evolution
Oracle-bone and bronze forms show a clearly bent arm with a hook at one end. Seal script smooths this into two curved strokes meeting at an angle. Clerical script straightens the upper portion and produces the two-stroke 九 found in modern kaishu, with the hooked lower-right stroke still echoing the original bent-limb image.
How the meaning evolved
The concrete 'elbow' meaning was displaced by 肘 early on, leaving 九 to carry only the numeral sense of nine. In Classical Chinese 九 also took on the figurative meaning 'many' or 'the highest number', since nine was the largest single digit and carried yang associations. Modern Mandarin uses jiǔ strictly as the cardinal number nine, though the 'ultimate' connotation persists in compounds.
Cultural note
九 was the imperial number par excellence: the Forbidden City is traditionally said to contain 9999 rooms, and dragon robes bore nine dragons. Because 九 (jiǔ) is homophonous with 久 (jiǔ, long-lasting), it remains a lucky number at weddings and anniversaries.
Basic info
Example sentences
九点上课。
Jiǔ diǎn shàngkè.
Class starts at nine.
From 九 (HSK 1)
Words containing 九
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 九 | jiǔ | nine | HSK 1 |
On the new HSK 1 exam
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Reviewed by RJ Murray, Founder, HSK Lord.