How to Write 乩 (jī) — Meaning “to practice divination”

Picture a bent divination stick (the left part 乙) held by a person who is writing an oracle (the right part 占). The curved line represents the motion of a planchette, and 占 reminds you of "divine" – together they spell "divination tool."

Write the left radical 乙 first: a horizontal stroke, then a curved hook. The right part 占 starts with a vertical stroke, then a horizontal, and finally a mouth shape (口). Keep the left side compact and the right side slightly wider, and do not make the left hook too large.

㐌 (pinyin yí or tā) is a rare character meaning "to extend" and has a different right component, while 乳 (rǔ) means "milk" or "breast" and adds a 子 (child) element. In contrast, 乩 specifically relates to divination and contains 占 (divine) on the right.

乩 appears mainly in traditional religious or folk contexts, such as 扶乩 (planchette writing) and 乩童 (spirit medium). It is not common in daily conversation but is still used in Taiwan and some Chinese communities to describe a form of spirit communication where a person writes messages from gods or ancestors.

Common words containing 乩 include: 乩童 (jī tóng) — spirit medium or shaman; 扶乩 (fú jī) — planchette writing; divination using a sieve or tray; 占乩 (zhàn jī) — divination using a planchette.