Dictionary › 极

极

jí

Old HSK 3 HSK 3.0 character level 3 Character Traditional 極

极 (jí) means "extremely". It is an HSK 3.0 level 3 word, and was HSK 3 in the old six-level list.

What 极 means

1. extremely
2. pole (geography, physics)
3. utmost
4. top

How 极 is used in grammar

极 is a grammar word. Each link goes to its own section: what it does in that pattern, the structure, three example sentences with pinyin, and the mistake to avoid.

• Degree Adverbs: 比较, 更加, 相当, 极 (HSK 3)

The official HSK 3.0 grammar outline lists it at level 3, adverbs (程度副词).

Example sentences

• 乐极生悲。
  Lèjíshēngbēi.
  Extreme joy begets sorrow.
• 否极泰来。
  Pǐjítàilái.
  After a storm comes a calm.
• 别走极端。
  Don't go to extremes.
• 我累极了。
  I'm done up.
• 他倒霉极了。
  Tā dǎoméi jíle.
  He is shit out of luck.
• 他极其英俊。
  He is tremendously handsome.

Words starting with 极

• 极其jí qíextremely
• 极端jí duānextreme
• 极限jí xiànlimit; extreme boundary
• 极为jí wéiextremely; exceedingly
• 极度jí dùextremely
• 极力jí lìto make a supreme effort; at all costs
• 极点jí diǎnextreme point; pole; the origin (in polar coordinates)
• 极品jí pǐnbest quality; item of the highest quality; (slang) outrageous
• 极少数jí shǎo shùextremely few; a small minority
• 极致jí zhìpeak; pinnacle; ultimate
• 极权jí quántotalitarian
• 极地jí dìpolar region
• 极乐jí lèbliss; extreme happiness
• 极乐世界jí lè shì jièparadise (mainly Buddhist); Elysium; (Budd.) Sukhavati
• 极权主义jí quán zhǔ yìtotalitarianism
• 极了jí leextremely; exceedingly
• 极化jí huàpolarization
• 极南jí nánextreme south
• 极大jí dàenormous; great; (math) maximum
• 极好jí hǎofabulous; superb; excellent
• 极客jí kè(loanword; colloquial) geek
• 极小jí xiǎominimal; extremely small
• 极少jí shǎovery little; very few
• 极性jí xìng(chemical, electrical) polarity; polarized

Words containing 极

• 积极jī jíactive; energetic; vigorous
• 太极拳tài jí quánshadowboxing or Taiji, T'aichi or T'aichichuan; traditional form of physical exercise or…
• 消极xiāo jínegative; passive; inactive
• 北极běi jíthe North Pole; the north magnetic pole
• 积极性jī jí xìngzeal; initiative; enthusiasm
• 终极zhōng jíultimate; final
• 无极wú jíeverlasting; unbounded
• 太极Tài jíthe Absolute or Supreme Ultimate, the source of all things according to some…
• 至极zhì jíextremely
• 南极nán jíthe South Pole; the south magnetic pole
• 积极分子jī jí fèn zǐactive supporter; political activist
• 两极liǎng jíthe two poles; the north and south poles; both ends of sth
• 北极熊běi jí xióngpolar bear
• 两极分化liǎng jí fēn huàpolarization
• 登峰造极dēng fēng zào jíto reach great heights (in technical skills or scholastic achievements)
• 穷凶极恶qióng xiōng jí èfiendish; black-hearted
• 红极一时hóng jí yī shítremendously popular for a while
• 皇太极Huáng Tài jíHong Taiji (1592-1643), eighth son of Nurhaci 努尔哈赤; posthumous name 清太宗
• 电极diàn jíelectrode
• 单极dān jíunipolar; monopole (physics)
• 基极jī jíbase electrode (in transistor)
• 正极zhèng jípositive electrode; positive pole; anode
• 负极fù jínegative pole; cathode
• 两极化liǎng jí huàto polarize; polarization; polarized; divergent

Characters built on 及

These share the phonetic component 及 (jí), which is why their readings rhyme. Learning them as a family is far cheaper than learning them one at a time.

• 级jílevel; grade; rank
• 吸xīto breathe; to suck in; to absorb
• 圾jīused in 垃圾; Taiwan pr. sè
• 汲jíto draw (water)
• 岌jílofty peak; perilous
• 笈jítrunks (for books)
• 芨jíBletilla hyacinthina (mucilaginous); Acronym for the Chinese Elder tree 菫草

Characters that look like 极

Easy to confuse on sight. Compare them side by side once and the pair stops costing you.

• 级jílevel; grade; rank
• 板bǎnboard; plank; plate
• 彼bǐthat; those; (one) another
• 柜guìcupboard; cabinet; wardrobe
• 拔báto pull up; to pull out; to draw out by suction
• 扳bānto pull; to turn (sth) around; to turn around (a situation)

Sounds the same

Read jí, tone for tone, but written differently.

• 及and; to reach; up to
• 即namely; that is; i.e.
• 级level; grade; rank
• 急urgent; pressing; rapid
• 籍(bound form) book; record; register; (bound form) place of one's family or ancestral…
• 集to gather; to collect; collected works
• 辑to gather up; to collect; to edit
• 吉lucky; giga- (meaning billion or 10^9)
• 疾(bound form) disease; ailment; (bound form) swift; (literary) to hate; to abhor
• 嫉jealousy; to be jealous of
• 笈trunks (for books)
• 藉(literary) to tread on; to insult; used in 狼藉

Where 极 is taught

In the GraphChinese course it is part of Stance Adverbs & Evaluative Words (HSK 3), HSK 3 Characters · Set 18 (HSK 3), each one a topic in the dependency graph of HSK 1–6 that opens only once its prerequisites are solid.

Go deeper

• Every HSK 3 word, with the rest of its level.
• How characters are built from components.
• How to learn Chinese characters.
• The four tones and the neutral tone, to read jí correctly.
• Look up another word in the free dictionary.