How to Write 亼 (jí) — Meaning “to assemble; to gather (ancient form of 集)”

Imagine three lines meeting at a point, like three people coming together from different directions. The top part looks like an open V, and the bottom line is the ground where they meet. This visual of "converging lines" helps you remember that 亼 means to gather.

Write the left-falling stroke first, then the right-falling stroke, and finally the horizontal stroke at the bottom. Make sure the two upper strokes meet at the top center, and the horizontal line is straight and slightly longer than the width of the upper part. A common mistake is to make the horizontal line too short or to cross it through the upper strokes.

亼 has three strokes, while 人 has only two strokes (left-falling and right-falling) with no horizontal line. 亻 is the left-side radical form of 人, used only as a component in characters like 他, and it never appears alone. 亼 is an ancient character meaning "to gather," whereas 人 means "person" and 亻 has no independent meaning.

亼 is rarely used alone in modern Chinese; it appears mainly in ancient texts or as a component in characters like 合 (to fit) and 令 (order). You might also see it in classical poetry or calligraphy, but it is not part of the HSK vocabulary. For everyday use, the modern character 集 is preferred to express "to gather."

Common words containing 亼 include: 亼合 (jí hé) — To gather together; 亼会 (jí huì) — To assemble or meet; 亼中 (jí zhōng) — To gather in the center.