奇 qí strange
strange; remarkable
How to remember 奇: 大 big + 可 may = strange. A big parcel arrives at the office, and nobody knows who may have ordered it, which is very strange.
Component breakdown
奇 = 大 big + 可 may
- 大 big
- 可 may
- 丁 nail
- 口 mouth
A big parcel arrives at the office, and nobody knows who may have ordered it, which is very strange.
How it came to be
A person over may, which is here for the sound. The old dictionary reads the whole as somebody riding, odd enough in its day to be worth a remark.
How it is used
- Sense of strange/remarkable - 奇怪 (qíguài) strange, 神奇 (shénqí) magical, 奇特 (qítè) peculiar.
- 好奇 (hàoqí, note the 4th-tone hào) means curious: 我很好奇 (wǒ hěn hàoqí) I'm really curious.
- 奇迹 (qíjì) is a miracle; 传奇 (chuánqí) is legendary/a legend.
- Alt reading jī appears in math (奇数 jīshù, odd number) - contrast with the 'strange' qí reading.
Characters built with 奇
Words with 奇
Example sentences
- 这件事情很奇怪。 Zhè jiàn shìqing hěn qíguài.This is very weird.
- 我突然有种奇怪的感觉。 Wǒ tūrán yǒu zhǒng qíguài de gǎnjué.I suddenly had a strange feeling.
- 长城是七大奇迹之一。 Chángchéng shì qī dà qíjì zhī yī.The Great Wall is one of the seven wonders of the world.