棘

jí

Frequency#2870

Definitions

jí thorns

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 朿 represents the meaning and 朿 represents the sound.

Semantic: 朿 Phonetic: 朿

About

The character "棘" is structured from two "朿" components, each denoting a thorn, visually representing a thicket of prickly vegetation. Its etymology points to an original meaning referring to specific brambles or thorny plants. Over time, the meaning expanded from literal thorns to metaphorically describe difficult or irritating situations, as seen in the compound "棘手". This shift from concrete to abstract applications occurred while the character's form remained unchanged.

Etymology Hide

Bronze Early Warring States (~400 BC)

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Seal Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

这片土地长满了荆棘。

Zhè piàn tǔdì zhǎng mǎn le jīngjí.

This piece of land is overgrown with brambles.

这个问题很棘手。

Zhège wèntí hěn jíshǒu.

This problem is very thorny (difficult).

小心那些棘刺。

Xiǎoxīn nàxiē jícì.

Be careful of those thorns.

荆棘丛生的小路很难走。

Jīngjí cóngshēng de xiǎo lù hěn nán zǒu.

The path overgrown with thorns is very difficult to walk on.

处理棘手事务需要耐心。

Chǔlǐ jíshǒu shìwù xūyào nàixīn.

Handling thorny matters requires patience.

棘皮动物是海洋生物。

Jípí dòngwù shì hǎiyáng shēngwù.

Echinoderms are marine organisms.

他们正在清理庭院里的荆棘。

Tāmen zhèngzài qīnglǐ tíngyuàn lǐ de jīngjí.

They are clearing the thorns in the courtyard.

面对棘手的挑战，他从不退缩。

Miànduì jíshǒu de tiǎozhàn, tā cóng bù tuìsuō.

When faced with thorny challenges, he never backs down.

Related Characters

Composed characters:

Component: 朿

棘