缉
Character Story & Explanation
In contemporary China, 缉 is most commonly seen in official contexts: '缉毒' (jī dú, drug interdiction), '缉私' (jī sī, anti-smuggling), and '网上追逃缉捕' (wǎngshàng zhuītáo jībǔ, online fugitive apprehension). It appears routinely in Ministry of Public Security press releases and CCTV News crime reports. A well-documented phrase is 缉拿归案 (jī ná guī àn)—‘seize and bring to justice’—used in court verdicts and police bulletins since at least the 1950s.
The character’s form combines 纟 (silk/thread) and 汲 (jí, ‘to draw water’), not ‘qī’. Historically, 缉 meant ‘to twist thread’ (as in weaving), recorded in the *Shuōwén Jiězì* (121 CE). The ‘seizing’ meaning emerged later through semantic extension: just as one draws thread taut or draws water from a well, one draws in or seizes a person. No oracle bone form survives; earliest attestation is in bronze inscriptions of the Warring States period.
The character 缉 (jī) evokes the urgency of law enforcement in modern China—imagine a Beijing police command center at dawn, screens flashing with license plates and facial recognition alerts. Officers coordinate across districts to 'seize' suspects linked to cross-province fraud rings. The character’s 纟 (silk) radical hints at its original textile meaning—'to twist thread together'—but by the Han dynasty, it had evolved metaphorically: just as threads are drawn tightly, so too are criminals drawn in, captured, and brought to justice.
While rarely used in casual speech, 缉 appears in formal legal documents, news headlines, and public security announcements. Its alternate reading qī survives only in archaic compounds like 缉熙 (qī xī, 'bright illumination'), borrowed from the Classic of Poetry—but today, jī dominates all active usage. This duality reflects how Chinese characters preserve layered history even as their everyday meanings narrow and specialize.
HSK Level 6 places 缉 among high-frequency administrative vocabulary—not for daily chit-chat, but for understanding official discourse. Learners encounter it in contexts like anti-smuggling operations or anti-corruption campaigns, where precision matters: 缉 is not merely 'arrest' (逮捕 dàibǔ) but specifically 'to track down and seize', implying sustained effort, investigation, and physical apprehension. It carries weight, authority, and procedural gravity.
Example Sentences
Common Compounds
Similar Characters — Don't Mix These Up
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