King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Chinese symbol for “brambles”

荆棘
jīng jí
Traditional: 荊棘
thistles and thorns; brambles; thorny undergrowth

The closest CC-CEDICT match for brambles is 荆棘 (jīng jí), defined as: thistles and thorns; brambles; thorny undergrowth.

Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.

Characters and stroke order

荆 jīng
thorns, brambles; surname
radical 140 ⾋ · 9 strokes
棘 jí
jujube tree; thorns, brambles
radical 75 ⽊ · 12 strokes

Traditional forms

Related words

Other words that share a character with 荆棘.

WordPinyinMeaning
紫荆 (紫荊)zǐ jīngChinese redbud (Cercis chinensis)
披荆斩棘 (披荊斬棘)pī jīng zhǎn jílit. to cut one's way through thistles and thorns (idiom); fig. to overcome all obstacles on the way
荆芥 (荊芥)jīng jièschizonepeta, herb used in Chinese medicine
负荆请罪 (負荊請罪)fù jīng qǐng zuìlit. to bring a bramble and ask for punishment (idiom); fig. to offer sb a humble apology
问荆 (問荊)wèn jīngfield horsetail (Equisetum arvense)
棘手jí shǒuthorny (problem); intractable
沙棘shā jí(botany) sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides)
棘轮 (棘輪)jí lúnratchet

Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.

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