How to Write 赍 (jī) — Meaning “to present; to carry; to bestow”

Imagine you are carefully arranging (齐) a precious shell (贝) as a gift to present to someone. The sound "jī" can remind you of "jee" as in "gee, what a nice present!" This visual of neatly placing a shell helps link the shape to the meaning.

Pay attention to the balance between the top part 齐 and the bottom 贝. The 齐 has a vertical stroke in its center that should line up with the center of 贝 below. A common mistake is making the 贝 too wide or forgetting to close the bottom of 贝 with a proper hook.

赍 has 齐 above a single 贝, while 賏 is made of two 贝 placed side by side (meaning "to present" but very rare). 贼 has 贝 on the left and 戒 on the right, meaning "thief" or "bandit." So 赍 is about giving or carrying, but 贼 is about stealing, and their shapes are quite different.

赍 is rarely used in everyday conversation and appears mostly in formal or literary contexts, such as classical texts or historical stories. Common terms include 赍发 (to provide funds for travel) and 赍恨 (to die with regret or harbor resentment). It carries a somewhat classical, poetic feel.

Common words containing 赍 include: 赍发 (jī fā) — to send; to dispatch; to provide; 赍赏 (jī shǎng) — to award; to bestow a reward; 赍恨 (jī hèn) — to harbor resentment; to die with regret.