Meaning
seven; 7
Chinese: 数字七。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “qi” becomes a different word in each tone. 七 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
- 乱七八糟luàn qī bā zāo(idiom) chaotic; in disorder; muddled
- 七嘴八舌qī zuǐ bā shélively discussion with everybody talking at once
- 横七竖八héng qī shù bāin disorder; at sixes and sevens (idiom)
- 七事qī shì(archaic) the seven duties of a sovereign
- 七方qī fāng(Chinese medicine) the seven kinds of prescriptions 大方, 小方, 缓方, 急方, 奇方, 偶方 and 重方 or 复方
Example Sentence
一个星期有七天。Yí ge xīng qī yǒu qī tiān.There are seven days in a week.
一个Yí gea星期xīng qīweek有yǒuto have七qīseven天tiānday。
Go deeper
Where this character comes from
Originally a cross marking a ‘cut’. It was borrowed for the sound ‘seven’, so a bend was added to tell it apart from 十 (‘ten’). The original ‘cut’ sense is now written 切.
A way to remember it
Like 十 but with the tail bent — seven, not ten.
Easy to confuse with
- 十‘Ten’: a straight cross with no bend at the bottom.