即

Tap the pinyin to hear it

namely; that is; i.e.; prompt; at once; at present; even if; prompted (by the occasion); to approach; to come into contact; to assume (office); to draw near

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HSK 3.0: Level 4
Old HSK: Level 4
Strokes: 7
Radical: 卩 +5
Structure: Left–right 左右
Traditional: 即
Common rank: #1,182
Unicode: U+5373

Sound it out + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

How 即 is formed

Ideographic compound (会意字)

A hungry person卩 kneeling over food 皀; compare 既

Components 卩 ? unknown part

How to remember it

immediately · Heisig RSH #1146

silver + stamp

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

Words with 即

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
可望而不可即	kě wàng ér bù kě jí	variant of 可望而不可及[ke3 wang4 er2 bu4 ke3 ji2]
不即不离	bù jí bù lí	to be neither too familiar nor too distant; to keep sb at arm's length
非黑即白	fēi hēi jí bái	black-or-white (e.g. good or bad, with no middle ground)
平台即服务	píng tái jí fú wù	(computing) platform as a service (PaaS)
所见即所得	suǒ jiàn jí suǒ dé	What you see is what you get (WYSIWYG)
即兴之作	jí xìng zhī zuò	improvisation
即时制	jí shí zhì	real-time (gaming)
呼之即来	hū zhī jí lái	to come when called (idiom); ready and compliant; always at sb's beck and call
一拍即合	yī pāi jí hé	lit. to be together from the first beat (idiom); to hit it off; to click together; to chim…
当断即断	dāng duàn jí duàn	not to delay making a decision when a decision is needed
即期品	jí qī pǐn	product approaching its expiry date (Tw)
一触即发	yī chù jí fā	could happen at any moment; on the verge
即时消息	jí shí xiāo xi	instant message
呼之即来，挥之即去	hū zhī jí lái , huī zhī jí qù	to come when called (idiom); ready and compliant; always at sb's beck and call
即时即地	jí shí jí dì	moment-to-moment
软件即服务	ruǎn jiàn jí fú wù	software as a service (SaaS)
即日	jí rì	this or that very day; in the next few days
即将来临	jí jiāng lái lín	imminent
即时	jí shí	immediate
即可	jí kě	equivalent to 就可以; can then (do sth); can immediately (do sth); (do sth) and that will suf…

Sound family

These characters use 即 as their sound component — compare how they read.

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
即 sound part	jí	promptly, quickly, immediately
唧	jī	the chirping of insects
鲫	jì	crucian carp; Carassius auratus