How to Write 剂 (jì) — Meaning “dose; agent; medicament”

Imagine a pharmacist using a knife (刂) to carefully cut a medicine block into equal parts (齐) to get the correct dose (剂). This visual of cutting a dose helps link the components to the meaning of 'dose' or 'agent'.

Write the left part 齐 first: start with a dot, then horizontal, left-falling, horizontal, vertical, left-falling, vertical (7 strokes total). The right part 刂 is two strokes: a vertical hook followed by a vertical line. A common mistake is making the left part too wide or misaligning the vertical strokes with the knife radical.

剂 has the left component 齐 and means 'dose' or 'agent', while 刎 (wěn) has 勿 (do not) on the left and means 'to cut one's throat'. 刑 (xíng) has 开 (open) on the left and means 'punishment'. Visually, 剂 has more strokes and a different top part compared to the simpler left parts of 刎 and 刑.

剂 is widely used in medicine and chemistry, such as 药剂 (yàojì, medicament), 剂量 (jìliàng, dosage), and 调剂 (tiáojì, to adjust a prescription). It also appears in 试剂 (shìjì, reagent) in labs. Culturally, it is a formal character often seen on pharmacy labels and in scientific texts, not in everyday casual conversation.

Common words containing 剂 include: 药剂 (yào jì) — medicament; dose; 剂量 (jì liàng) — dosage; dose; 调剂 (tiáo jì) — To adjust; to balance; to make up a prescription.