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HSK 1

九

nine

nounneutral
九
jiǔ3rd tone

HSK level

1
2
3
4
5
6
Pinyin
jiǔ
Part of speech
noun
Level
HSK 1
Strokes
2
Register
neutral

Stroke order for 九

九 is written with 2 strokes. The animation replays automatically.

What does 九 mean?

九 (jiǔ) is the Chinese number 'nine' — used in counting (一二三...九十), telling time (九点 jiǔ diǎn, 9 o'clock), naming dates (九月 jiǔyuè, September; the 9th of the month is 九号 jiǔ hào), and giving phone numbers and prices.

Culturally, 九 is the luckiest single-digit number in Chinese: it is a homophone of 久 (jiǔ, 'long-lasting / eternal'), which is why Chinese weddings, imperial architecture (the Forbidden City's nine-nine-rivet doors), and good-luck giving (red envelopes of 99, 999, 9999 yuan) lean on it. English speakers should note: when 九 is followed by another number to form 'nineteen' (十九 shíjiǔ) or 'ninety' (九十 jiǔshí), the tone stays third but is often pronounced 'half-third' in fast speech. A formal/anti-fraud variant 玖 is used on checks.

Example sentences

现在九点。

Xiànzài jiǔ diǎn.

It's nine o'clock now.

neutral

我九月去中国。

Wǒ jiǔyuè qù Zhōngguó.

I'm going to China in September.

neutral

今天是九号。

Jīntiān shì jiǔ hào.

Today is the 9th.

spoken

他今年九岁。

Tā jīnnián jiǔ suì.

He is nine years old this year.

spoken

Common phrases with 九

九点jiǔ diǎnnine o'clock
九月jiǔyuèSeptember
九号jiǔ hàothe 9th (day / number)
九十jiǔshíninety
十九shíjiǔnineteen

Synonyms

玖jiǔ

玖 is the formal 'anti-fraud' form of 九 used on bank checks, contracts, and official receipts so the digit cannot be altered. In daily speech and writing, always use 九.

Don't confuse 九 with

久jiǔ

久 ('long time / lasting') sounds identical to 九 ('nine'). The homophone is exactly why 九 became culturally lucky. Different character, different meaning, same pinyin.

酒jiǔ

酒 means 'alcohol / liquor.' Same pinyin as 九, but third tone alcohol vs. third tone nine — only the character disambiguates in writing. 喝酒 = drink alcohol; 九点 = nine o'clock.

几jǐ

几 ('how many') is a question word, not a number. 几 looks visually similar to 九 but with a flatter top. 几点？ = 'what time?'; 九点 = 'nine o'clock.'

FAQ

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