How to Write 剞 (jī) — Meaning “curved carving tool; to carve”

Imagine a "strange" (奇) curved blade (刂) used by a sculptor to carve unusual patterns. The left part 奇 looks like a person with a bent body, and the knife on the right reminds you it cuts. This visual of a curved tool for odd shapes helps link the meaning "curved carving tool."

The left component 奇 has five strokes, with a vertical hook (亅) in the middle, not a vertical line. The right component 刂 has two strokes: a short vertical and a longer vertical with a hook. A common mistake is making the left side too wide or forgetting the small horizontal stroke (一) in the upper part of 奇.

剞 (jī) specifically refers to a curved carving tool or the action of carving, while 刮 (guā) means "to scrape" or "to shave" and uses a different radical layout (舌 + 刂). 到 (dào) means "to arrive" or "to reach" and has the radical 至 (arrive) on the left, not related to cutting at all. Visually, 剞 has the unique left side 奇, whereas 刮 has 舌 and 到 has 至.

剞 is very rare in everyday modern Chinese and appears mostly in classical literature or specialized contexts about wood carving or engraving. It is found in words like 剞劂 (jī jué), which refers to carving tools and is used figuratively to describe literary creation or editing. You may encounter it in traditional Chinese art discussions or historical texts about printmaking.

Common words containing 剞 include: 剞劂 (jī jué) — engraving tools; to carve; 剞刻 (jī kè) — to carve; to engrave; 剞劙 (jī lí) — to cut; to carve.