漢字Kanji · in Human Body & People
器: utensil, vessel
Also: receptacle, implement, instrument, ability, container, tool, set
口 carries the meaning · 大 is drawn in
Bronze · Spring and Autumn Today
Bronze: Wikimedia Commons, traced from Academia Sinica, CC0. Today’s form: KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Two readings, and the words that use each
キki · on'yomi · in compounds
- 器械きかいinstrument
- 容器ようきcontainer, vessel
- 陶器とうきpottery, ceramics
- 便器べんきbedpan, chamber pot, urinal
- 食器しょっきtableware
- 楽器がっきmusical instrument
- 兵器へいきarms, weapons, ordinance
- 臓器ぞうきviscera, internal organs
- 消化器しょうかきdigestive organs
- 器用なきようなskillful, handy
- 不器用なぶきようなclumsy, unskillful
うつわutsuwa · kun'yomi · on its own
- 器うつわbowl, vessel, container
Words: Kanji alive, CC BY 4.0.
Where it comes from
Origin · sourced
Ideogrammic compound (會意)
Uncertain. The classical interpretation is an ideogrammic compound (會意): a 犬 (“dog”) guarding four 口 (“vessels”).
Source: Wiktionary, 器 (rev. 92430387), CC BY-SA 4.0
Memory story · made up to help you remember
“Open your mouth wide and what do you see? A simple, sturdy square!”
Connections
Easy to confuse
The difference, side by sideIn ChineseSame character in simplified and traditional · qì
Same form: 器 is written the same way in mainland China (simplified) and in Taiwan and Hong Kong (traditional).
- Simplified
- 器 mainland China, Singapore
- Traditional
- 器 Taiwan, Hong Kong
Pinyin qì most common reading
Forms and pinyin: Unicode Unihan database (Unicode License v3). Pinyin lists the most common reading, not every reading.