Word

忌 (jì) — Chinese word meaning

HSK 7

Meaning of 忌

动 dòng verb

to avoid; to abstain from; to be taboo

医生说他要忌烟酒。

yī shēng shuō tā yào jì yān jiǔ

The doctor said he should abstain from smoking and drinking.

Word breakdown

忌 jì — to avoid; to abstain from; to be taboo

1 切忌 qiè jì — must avoid HSK 7
- 切 earnestly, definitely (adds emphasis and urgency)
- 忌 taboo, avoid, abstain from (core meaning of prohibition)
Example

开车时切忌玩手机。

kāi chē shí qiè jì wán shǒu jī

When driving, you must avoid using your phone.
2 忌口 jì kǒu — abstain from certain foods HSK 7
- 忌 avoid, abstain from, taboo
- 口 eating, food intake (literally: mouth)
Example

医生让我忌口，不能吃辣的。

yī shēng ràng wǒ jì kǒu bù néng chī là de

The doctor told me to abstain from certain foods, I can't eat spicy food.
3 忌妒 jì dù — to be jealous, to envy HSK 7
- 忌 to resent, to be wary of (adds negative emotion)
- 妒 to be jealous, to envy (core meaning of jealousy)
Example

她忌妒她姐姐的成功。

tā jì dù tā jiě jie de chéng gōng

She is jealous of her sister's success.
4 忌讳 jì huì — to avoid as taboo HSK 7
- 忌 to avoid, to abstain from
- 讳 to conceal, to avoid mentioning
Example

在中国文化中，人们忌讳在春节说不吉利的话。

zài Zhōng guó wén huà zhōng rén men jì huì zài Chūn jié shuō bù jí lì de huà

In Chinese culture, people avoid saying unlucky words during the Spring Festival.
5 禁忌 jìn jì — taboo HSK 7
- 禁 prohibition, forbidden
- 忌 avoidance, something to be avoided
Example

在这个文化中，谈论死亡是一个禁忌。

zài zhè ge wén huà zhōng tán lùn sǐ wáng shì yí ge jìn jì

In this culture, talking about death is a taboo.

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6 肆无忌惮 sì wú jì dàn — unbridled; unscrupulous; without restraint HSK 7
- 肆 wantonly; unbridled; to indulge without restraint
- 无 without; not have
- 忌 to fear; to scruple; to avoid
- 惮 to dread; to fear; to be in awe
Example

这些人肆无忌惮地破坏环境。

zhè xiē rén sì wú jì dàn de pò huài huán jìng

These people destroy the environment without any scruples.