How to Write 儆 (jǐng) — Meaning “to warn / to caution”

Picture a person (亻) standing respectfully (敬) with one hand raised, warning others to be careful. This combines the ideas of respect and caution, helping you recall that 儆 means "to warn."

The left radical 亻 should be thin and vertical, while the right part 敬 has 13 strokes. Pay special attention to the top of 敬: write the grass radical 艹 first, then the hook and mouth under it, and finish with the 攵 (four strokes: short horizontal, then left-falling, right-falling, and a final press). A common mistake is making the left side too wide or mixing up the strokes in 敬.

All three share the 亻 radical, but their right parts differ. 儆 uses 敬 (grass + hook + mouth + 攵) and means "to warn." 傅 uses 尃 (甫 + 寸) and means "teacher" or "to assist." 傈 uses 粟 (西 + 米) and is a surname or means "rustic." Visually, 儆 has a top grass stroke, 傅 has a flat top (甫), and 傈 has a top like a window (西).

儆 appears in formal or written contexts, often in idioms like 杀一儆百 (shā yī jǐng bǎi, "execute one to warn a hundred"), which comes from ancient legal practice. It is also used in words like 儆戒 (to admonish) and 儆醒 (to stay alert). This character is not in the HSK vocabulary, so it is more common in advanced reading, news, or classical texts.

Common words containing 儆 include: 儆戒 (jǐng jiè) — to warn / to admonish; 儆醒 (jǐng xǐng) — Vigilant; alert; 杀一儆百 (shā yī jǐng bǎi) — To execute one to warn a hundred; to make an example of someone..