How to Write 器 (qì) — Meaning “device or vessel”

Imagine four loudspeakers (the four 口) surrounding a big barking dog (犬) – a noisy machine! This visual of many mouths and a dog helps you recall that 器 means "device" or "vessel" for producing sound or containing things.

Write each of the four 口 components as small squares, starting with the top-left mouth, then top-right, then the middle 犬 (stroke order: left, right, top, bottom for the dog), and finally the bottom-left and bottom-right mouths. A common mistake is making the mouths too large – keep them even and compact so the character remains balanced.

㕡 is a rare ancient character meaning a hollow or gully, and it looks like 器 but with 谷 (valley) instead of 犬 – it is almost never used in modern Chinese. 嗽 (sòu) means "to cough" and is a phonetic compound with 口 on the left and a different right part; it shares the 口 radical but has no relation to devices.

器 appears in everyday words like 机器 (machine), 乐器 (musical instrument), and 电器 (electrical appliance). In Chinese culture, 器 also carries a philosophical sense of capacity and usefulness, as in the phrase "大器晚成" (a great vessel takes long to finish), meaning a talented person achieves success later in life.

Common words containing 器 include: 机器 (jī qì) — machine; machinery; 乐器 (yuè qì) — musical instrument; 电器 (diàn qì) — electrical appliance.