记

Etymology & Components

The Chinese character 记 (jì) is composed of two parts: the radical 讠 (yán), which indicates that the character is related to speech or language, and the phonetic component 紀 (jì), which provides a hint about its pronunciation.The radical 讠 is a pictograph of a person speaking, with the mouth open and the tongue visible. It is used in many characters related to speech, language, and communication, such as 说 (shuō, "to speak"), 听 (tīng, "to listen"), and 读 (dú, "to read").The phonetic component 紀 (jì) is a pictograph of a rope tied around a bundle of bamboo slips. In ancient China, bamboo slips were used as a writing material, and they were often tied together with ropes to form a book. The character 紀 therefore came to be associated with the idea of recording or keeping a record.When these two components are combined, the character 记 (jì) takes on the meaning of "to record" or "to remember". It can be used as a verb, meaning "to write down" or "to memorize", or as a noun, meaning "a record" or "a memory".In addition to its basic meaning, the character 记 can also be used in a more figurative sense, to mean "to bear in mind" or "to take note of". For example, the phrase 牢记 (láo jì) means "to remember firmly", while the phrase 笔记 (bǐ jì) means "notes" or "a notebook".The character 记 is a common and versatile character that is used in a wide variety of contexts. By understanding its etymology, we can gain a deeper appreciation for its meaning and usage.