Learn Chinese Characters

Meaning

a period of time; phase; stage; (used for issue of a periodical; courses of study); time

Chinese: 一段时间、日期或期待。

Hear the Four Tones

The same syllable “qi” becomes a different word in each tone. 期 is the 1st tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.

Stroke Order

Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.

Common Words

  • 星期xīng qīweek; day of the week; Sunday
  • 日期rì qīdate
  • 假期jià qīvacation
  • 学期xué qīterm; semester
  • 长期cháng qīlong-term; for a protracted period

Example Sentence

我很期待这个假期。Wǒ hěn qī dài zhè ge jià qī.I am really looking forward to this holiday.

Ihěnvery期待qī dàito look forward to这个zhè ge(pronoun) this假期jià qīvacation

Go deeper

Where this character comes from

其 (sound) plus 月 (moon, marking time): a fixed span of time — ‘a period, term; a scheduled time; to expect; an issue (of a periodical)’ (时期, 期望, 第一期).

A way to remember it

A span of moons (月) — a period; to expect.