How to Write 姫 (jī) — Meaning “lady; princess (often used in Japanese contexts)”

Imagine a woman (女) kneeling before a king (臣) — she is a noble lady or princess in the royal court. This visual of a respectful woman near a ruler helps link the shape to the meaning of "lady" or "princess."

Write the left radical 女 first with three strokes, then the right side (which looks like a box with a horizontal line inside) using four strokes. A common mistake is making the right side too wide or confusing it with the full 臣 character, which has an extra bottom stroke.

Visually, 姫 has a right side that looks like a box (similar to 臣), while 妊 has 壬 (a worker figure with a vertical line) and 妍 has 开 (two horizontal lines crossed by a vertical). In meaning, 姫 means "lady" or "princess," 妊 means "pregnant," and 妍 means "beautiful."

姫 is rarely used in modern Chinese; it appears mainly in Japanese place names like 姫路 (Himeji) or in classical texts. In Chinese, the equivalent character for "lady" is 姬, so 姫 is more connected to Japanese culture and history.

Common words containing 姫 include: 姫路 (jī lù) — Himeji (a city in Japan); 姫君 (jī jūn) — noblewoman; lady; 舞姫 (wǔ jī) — Female dancer.