(qì) - air, gas, breath, anger in Mandarin

qì

Traditional: 氣

#1951 of 5,000 Core 5000

Translation

air, gas, breath, anger

Word origin

Originally a pictograph of rising vapour or steam, later extended to mean air, breath, vital energy and, by figurative use, anger.

Origin: pictograph
Root: 气 (qì), a depiction of rising vapour

Stroke order

气

Examples

屋wū鲜xiān。

The air in the room is very fresh.

。

He ran until he was out of breath.

，。

Do not be angry, speak slowly.

轮lún胎tāi。

The tyre has gone flat.

深shēn深shēn口kǒu。

She took a deep breath.

气 (qì) means air, gas or breath, and by extension anger when one's emotional energy flares up. It is a highly productive root in compounds such as 生气 (to be angry) and 空气 (air).

Where this fits

The 1,000 most common Mandarin words

Where this word sits in the core vocabulary, and what to learn around it.

Mandarin vocabulary by HSK level

How many words each level actually needs, with real counts.

Mandarin learning guides

Podcasts, pronunciation traps and the things a word list cannot teach.

Appears in 3 words

Multi-character compounds in the corpus that contain 气.

生气shēng qìangry, get angry 客气kè qìpolite, courteous; to stand on ceremony 天气tiān qìweather

Used in

Grammar articles

(14)

Add to review queue

Track this word in your spaced-repetition queue and be tested on it at the right interval.

Go to my review queue

Mandarin · Free printables

气: worksheet, infographic and listicle

Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "气" (air, gas, breath, anger): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.

Free for members

The printable worksheets, infographics and PDFs are free with an account. Start a free week and download as many as you like.

Start your free week

This word is part of lesson 40.