寄

Etymology & Components

The Chinese character 寄 (jì) is composed of two parts: the radical 宀 (miàn), which represents a roof or shelter, and the phonetic component 己 (jǐ), which represents the first-person pronoun "I" or "self". The combination of these two components suggests the idea of sending or entrusting something to someone else for safekeeping or delivery.The original meaning of 寄 was "to lodge" or "to stay temporarily in a place". In ancient times, people often traveled long distances and needed to find places to stay along the way. They would often stay in temples, inns, or the homes of friends and relatives. The character 寄 was used to express this idea of temporary lodging.Over time, the meaning of 寄 expanded to include the idea of sending or entrusting something to someone else. This could be a physical object, such as a letter or a package, or it could be something more abstract, such as a hope or a wish. The character 寄 is often used in this sense in modern Chinese.For example, the phrase 寄信 (jì xìn) means "to send a letter", and the phrase 寄托 (jì tuō) means "to entrust something to someone". The character 寄 can also be used in a more figurative sense, as in the phrase 寄情山水 (jì qíng shān shuǐ), which means "to express one's feelings through landscape painting".In addition to its literal meaning, the character 寄 also has a number of metaphorical meanings. For example, it can be used to express the idea of longing or homesickness, as in the phrase 寄人篱下 (jì rén lí xià), which means "to live under someone else's roof". It can also be used to express the idea of hope or aspiration, as in the phrase 寄予厚望 (jì yǔ hòu wàng), which means "to place high hopes on someone".The character 寄 is a versatile and expressive character that can be used in a variety of contexts. It is an important character to learn for HSK learners, as it is used frequently in both written and spoken Chinese.