Chinese symbol for “motive”
动机
dòng jī
Traditional: 動機
motive; motivation
The closest CC-CEDICT match for motive is 动机 (dòng jī), defined as: motive; motivation.
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
Traditional forms
Other Chinese words for “motive”
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 用心 | yòng xīn | motive; intention |
| 起见 (起見) | qǐ jiàn | motive; purpose |
| 心气 (心氣) | xīn qì | intention; motive |
| 出发点 (出發點) | chū fā diǎn | starting point; (fig.) basis; motive |
| 心路 | xīn lù | scheme; artifice |
Related words
Other words that share a character with 动机.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 活动 (活動) | huó dòng | to exercise; to move about; to work out; shaky; unsteady; loose (tooth etc) |
| 运动 (運動) | yùn dòng | to move; to exercise |
| 行动 (行動) | xíng dòng | operation; action |
| 动物 (動物) | dòng wù | animal |
| 推动 (推動) | tuī dòng | to push (e.g. for acceptance of a plan); to promote; to give impetus to |
| 劳动 (勞動) | láo dòng | work; toil |
| 机构 (機構) | jī gòu | mechanism; structure |
| 机会 (機會) | jī huì | opportunity; chance |
See also: Japanese symbol for “motive”.
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.