气 is a Chinese character with 4 strokes, radical 气 (steam), HSK 1 on the new exam.
Etymology
Oracle-bone origin
The oracle-bone form is three horizontal lines depicting vapour, mist, or rising air. It looked very similar to 三 (three) and the two were sometimes distinguished only by stroke length or context. The picture is of layered cloud or breath drifting in the sky.
Form evolution
Bronze and seal forms added a slight wave or hook to the lines to separate the character visually from 三. A later traditional form 氣 added the semantic element 米 (rice) underneath, reflecting the idea of steam rising from cooking grain. The simplified mainland form 气 dropped the 米 and returned to something close to the original three-line pictograph with a hooked tail.
How the meaning evolved
The original sense was 'vapour, cloud, breath', which broadened to 'air' and then to 'qi', the vital energy of the body in Chinese medicine and philosophy. Further extensions cover 'weather' (天气), 'smell' (气味), 'mood or temperament' (脾气), and 'to make angry' (气人). Few common characters cover such a wide semantic range from a single pictographic root.
Cultural note
气 carries heavy cultural weight through its philosophical sense in Daoism, martial arts, and traditional medicine, where it names the life-force circulating through body and world. Learners frequently mis-stroke it by writing four horizontal lines instead of three plus the final hook.
Mnemonic
Rising vapors — air, weather, spirit
Basic info
| Stroke count | 4 strokes |
| Radical | 气 (#84: steam) |
| New HSK exam | Recognise at HSK 1 |
| Frequency | #54 most common |
Example sentences
Words containing 气
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 不客气 | búkèqì | you are welcome | HSK 1 |
| 天气 | tiānqì | weather | HSK 1 |
| 生气 | shēngqì | get angry | HSK 3 |
| 空气 | kōngqì | air | HSK 4 |
| 力气 | lìqi | Strength | HSK 4 |
| 脾气 | píqi | Bad temper | HSK 4 |
| 气候 | qìhòu | climate | HSK 4 |
| 气氛 | qìfēn | atmosphere | HSK 6 |
| 淘气 | táoqì | naughty | HSK 6 |
| 小气 | xiǎoqi | Mean | HSK 6 |
| 勇气 | yǒngqì | courage | HSK 5 |
| 运气 | yùnqi | luck | HSK 5 |
| 语气 | yǔqì | tone | HSK 5 |
| 憋气 | biēqì | to feel suffocated | |
| 不景气 | bùjǐngqì | slack, depression | HSK 7-9 |
| 喘气 | chuǎnqì | to breathe heavily | |
| 大气 | dàqì | atmosphere | HSK 7-9 |
| 服气 | fúqì | to be convinced, to give in | HSK 7-9 |
| 福气 | fúqi | good fortune, happy lot | HSK 7-9 |
Related characters
On the new HSK 1 exam
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Frequently Asked Questions
Appears in these articles
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Reviewed by RJ Murray, Founder, HSK Lord.