jīn

axe

Pictograph of an axe for chopping wood.

Evolution

斤 Oracle script (~1250-1000 BC)

Oracle script

(~1250-1000 BC)
斤 Bronze script Early Western Zhou (~1000 BC)

Bronze script

Early Western Zhou (~1000 BC)
斤 Seal script Shuowen (~100 AD)

Seal script

Shuowen (~100 AD)
斤 Clerical script Cao Wei (Three Kingdoms: 222-280 AD)

Clerical script

Cao Wei (Three Kingdoms: 222-280 AD)
斤 Regular script Modern

Regular script

Modern
Definitions

 

jīn

a catty (approximately 500 g); an axe; keen, shrewd; KangXi radical number 69; catty; (PRC) weight equal to 500 g; (Tw) weight equal to 600 g; (HK, Malaysia, Singapore) slightly over 604 g

Most common words with 斤
Freq.
Word
Meaning

公斤

kilogram (kg)

catty

斤斤计较

to haggle over every ounce

千斤顶

jack (for lifting weight)

半斤八两

tweedledum and tweedledee

Component uses

Meaning component in 6 characters (4 verified)

Sound component in 13 characters (2 verified)

Iconic component in 7 characters (7 verified)

Simplified component in 1 character (1 verified)

Unknown component in 1 character (1 verified)

Historical pronunciation

Old Chinese

Middle Chinese

Pinyin

Gloss

*[k]ər

kj+n

jīn

axe; catty


Statistics

HSK level 2

Appears in 3.6201% of movies

2553rd most common character in movies

1866th most common character in books

Miscellaneous

Strokes

4

Unicode

U+65A4

Shuowen

“斤,斫木也。象形。”


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