骑

騎

jì, qí

奇 + 马

HSK 2.0Level 3

HSK 3.0Level 3

Definitions

qí (verb) to ride (a horse, bicycle etc)

qí (verb) to sit astride

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 马 represents the meaning and 奇 represents the sound. Simplified form of 騎.

Semantic: 马 Phonetic: 奇

About

The simplified character 骑, derived from the traditional form 騎 (which retains the unsimplified horse radical 馬), is a phonosemantic compound: the semantic component 马 gives the meaning 'horse', and the phonetic component 奇 provides the sound. Its original meaning is to sit astride and ride a horse, which was a primary mode of transportation and military mobility in historical times. Over time, the definition expanded to include riding other animals, as well as operating modern wheeled vehicles that require a straddling posture, like bicycles and motorcycles. Besides its verbal use, 骑 can function as a noun denoting a horse rider or as a classifier for cavalrymen and saddle horses.

Etymology Hide

Bronze Warring States (475-221 BC)

Seal Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

我喜欢骑自行车。

Wǒ xǐhuān qí zìxíngchē.

I like riding a bicycle.

他每天骑车上学。

Tā měitiān qí chē shàngxué.

He rides a bike to school every day.

弟弟骑着小马玩。

Dìdi qízhe xiǎo mǎ wán.

Younger brother rides a pony to play.

妈妈骑电动车去买菜。

Māma qí diàndòngchē qù mǎi cài.

Mom rides an electric bike to buy groceries.

早上我骑自行车去公园。

Zǎoshang wǒ qí zìxíngchē qù gōngyuán.

In the morning, I ride a bicycle to the park.

我还不会骑马。

Wǒ hái bù huì qí mǎ.

I still can't ride a horse.

你骑过摩托车吗？

Nǐ qíguò mótuōchē ma?

Have you ever ridden a motorcycle?

虽然下雨，但他还是骑车去上班了。

Suīrán xià yǔ, dàn tā háishì qí chē qù shàngbān le.

Although it was raining, he still rode a bike to work.

Related Characters

Component: 奇

Component: 马

骑