How to Write 斤 (jīn) — Meaning “Jin (unit of weight, approx. 500g)”

Imagine an axe chopping a piece of wood that weighs exactly 500 grams (1 jin). The shape of 斤 looks like the handle and blade of that axe, helping you link the image to the weight unit. Alternatively, think of 'jin' sounding like 'gin' – a heavy bottle of gin weighs about 500 grams.

The stroke order is: left-falling stroke, horizontal stroke, vertical stroke, then a right-falling stroke (捺). A common mistake is to write the last stroke as a dot or a hook instead of a smooth, curved right-falling line. Keep the vertical stroke straight and slightly longer than the horizontal stroke for balance.

The main difference is that 斥 has an extra dot (丶) after the horizontal stroke, placed near the top-left area, while 斤 does not. Meaning-wise, 斤 is a weight unit, whereas 斥 means 'to scold' or 'to reject'. Visually, 斥 is one stroke longer and looks like 斤 with a small dot added on the left side.

斤 is commonly used in daily life for measuring weight, especially in markets for food items like fruit and vegetables (e.g., 三斤苹果). The standard 斤 equals 500 grams, but historically it was 16两 (taels). The idiom 斤斤计较 (jīn jīn jì jiào) means 'to haggle over every little detail' and comes from the idea of fussing over small weight differences.

Common words containing 斤 include: 公斤 (gōng jīn) — Kilogram; 斤两 (jīn liǎng) — Weight / Importance; 斤斤计较 (jīn jīn jì jiào) — To haggle over every detail / To be petty.