(jì) - prostitute, courtesan (bound morpheme) in Mandarin
jìTraditional: 妓
Translation
prostitute, courtesan (bound morpheme)
Word origin
A phono-semantic character: 女 (nǚ, woman) gives the meaning and 支 (zhī) gives the sound.
- Origin
- phonetic
- Root
- 女 (nǚ, woman) + 支 (zhī, phonetic)
Stroke order
妓
Examples
。
The character 妓 is rarely used on its own.
。
This character is normally used together with the character 女.
。
That novel tells the story of a prostitute.
诗。
Famous courtesans in ancient times often wrote poetry.
。
There used to be many brothels on this street.
妓 is a bound morpheme, not a word you use by itself. It appears inside compounds: 妓女 (a prostitute), 妓院 (a brothel), 名妓 (a famous courtesan of the classical period). You will meet it in novels, history writing and news reports far more often than in speech.
The reading is jì, fourth tone, and it is worth separating from the crowd of other jì characters you already know: 记 (to record), 计 (to calculate), 季 (season), 既 (since). Only the 女 radical marks this one out on the page.
Register matters here. The compounds are clinical or literary rather than abusive, but they are still not small talk. In everyday conversation there is almost no reason to reach for them, and a learner is far better served recognising 妓 in reading than producing it.
Where this fits
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妓: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "妓" (prostitute, courtesan (bound morpheme)): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 42.