The character 集 — “gather”: how to write it and what it means
gather; episode, series
The Chinese character 集 is read jí and means “gather; episode, series”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.
Stroke order: how to write 集
集 has 12 strokes. At each step the new stroke is highlighted — write them in the same order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical, a frame before what is inside it, and the bottom stroke of the frame last.
To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for 集, with strokes to trace and empty squares.
What 集 is made of
On top, 隹 “bird”; at the bottom, 木 “tree”: birds gathered in a tree.
The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.
Words with 集
- 集中concentrate, focusHSK 5
- 收集collect, gatherHSK 5
- 集合gather, assembleHSK 5
- 集体collective, groupHSK 5
- 密集concentrated; clusterHSK 6
- 集团group (of companies), corporationHSK 6
- 采集collect (samples, data)HSK 6
- 搜集collect, gather (data)HSK 6
- 聚集gather, accumulateHSK 6
Frequently asked questions
How do you write the character 集?
集 has 12 strokes. They follow the usual rules: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal before vertical, outside before inside. The order of each stroke is shown on this page.
What does 集 mean?
集 means “gather; episode, series”. It appears in 集中 (“concentrate”), 收集 (“collect”), 集合 (“gather”), 集体 (“collective”).
How do you pronounce 集?
集 is read jí. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.
How many strokes does 集 have?
12 strokes.
More characters on the page “Chinese characters with meanings” and in the list of HSK characters by level; whole words are in the dictionary.
Write 集 yourself
In the lessons you write characters stroke by stroke with a finger or a mouse, and the course checks the order. You can start for free, no sign-up needed.
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