棋

• Pinyin: qí
• Hanzi breakdown: 棋 = 木 (wood radical) + 其 (phonetic component)

Meaning

Chess; board game. A general term for board games including Chinese chess, Go, and international chess.

Covers 象棋 (Chinese chess), 围棋 (Go), 国际象棋 (Western chess), and others. Also used metaphorically in strategic thinking. 下棋 is the standard verb phrase for playing board games.

Examples

1. 爷爷每天下午都会在公园里和老友下棋消磨时光。 Grandpa goes to the park every afternoon to play board games with old friends to pass the time.
2. 围棋是一种变化无穷、充满哲学意蕴的传统棋类游戏。 Go is a traditional board game with endless variations and rich philosophical meaning.
3. 他的棋艺出神入化，曾在全国象棋大赛中连夺冠军。 His skill in chess is extraordinary; he has won championship titles repeatedly in a national Chinese chess tournament.

Usage Guide

Context: leisure, sports, culture

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 他从小跟着爷爷学棋，如今已成为职业棋手。(He started learning chess with his grandfather as a child and is now a professional player.)
• 下棋不仅是一种娱乐，更能锻炼人的逻辑思维和专注力。(Playing chess is not only a form of entertainment but also trains logical thinking and focus.)

Don't Say

• 我们玩棋了 — use 下棋 as the standard verb phrase; 玩棋 sounds unnatural to native Mandarin speakers

Origin & History

棋 = 木 (wood — pieces were traditionally made of wood) + 其 (phonetic component)

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal