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机jī

machine; mechanism; opportunity; crucial point

机 means machine, mechanism, or opportunity; 木 is the old material clue and 几 is the sound clue.

GF0025–2021 character list · 一级
One character pageAll readings and linked senses stay together.

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Use 木 and 几 to remember the modern shape. The historical origin of old 机 and the modern simplified form of 機 are distinct.

left / right · 机

WHOLE CHARACTER

机jī

machine; mechanism; opportunity; crucial point

机 means machine, mechanism, or opportunity; 木 is the old material clue and 几 is the sound clue.

Use 木 and 几 to remember the modern shape. The historical origin of old 机 and the modern simplified form of 機 are distinct.

WOOD MEANING SIDE

木mù

tree; wood

Tree/wood-related meaning clue.

In 机: wood meaning side ZDIC records the wood side as the meaning clue.

SAME-SOUND MODERN COMPONENT

几jī

small table; nearly; jǐ how many

Standalone meaning is kept separate from its role in other characters.

In 机: same-sound modern component 几 has a reading jī, matching 机 jī. The source distinguishes the old tree-name character 机 from traditional 機, whose historical phonetic component is 幾.

jīTone 1
  • machine; mechanism
  • opportunity; crucial point

This page teaches modern simplified 机. The tree is a modern visual split and is kept separate from the historical 機 graph.

  • 机器jīqìmachine
  • 机会jīhuìopportunity

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