How to Write 缉 (jī) — Meaning “to arrest / to seize / to stitch”

Imagine a police officer using a long silk thread to tie up a criminal — the silk radical 纟 reminds you of the rope, and the action of seizing is 'jī' like a quick grab. The right side 咠 can be broken into 'mouth' (口) and 'ear' (耳), as if the officer hears a whisper and then arrests the suspect.

The left radical 纟 must be written with three strokes in the order: 撇折, 撇折, 提 (first two are slanted folds, last is a rising stroke). The right side 咠 has nine strokes, starting with 口 (top) then 耳 (bottom) — make sure the bottom horizontal stroke of 耳 extends slightly past the vertical line, and do not confuse it with 茸 (a different character).

缉 (jī) means to arrest or to stitch, while 绠 (gěng) refers to a well rope or a general rope, and 绡 (xiāo) means raw silk or fine silk fabric. Visually, 缉 has 咠 on the right, 绠 has 更 (gèng), and 绡 has 肖 (xiāo), so their right-side components are completely different.

缉 appears in formal law enforcement terms such as 缉拿 (to arrest), 侦缉 (to track down and arrest), and 缉毒 (drug enforcement). It also appears in the traditional shoemaking term 缉鞋口 (to stitch the edge of a shoe), showing its dual meaning of sewing and seizing.

Common words containing 缉 include: 缉拿 (jī ná) — to arrest; to seize; 侦缉 (zhēn jī) — To track down and arrest; 缉鞋口 (jī xié kǒu) — to stitch the edge of a shoe.