HSK 3.0 Level 2 · School

本子 běnzi “book” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 本子 means

  1. book
  2. notebook
  3. Japanese-style self-published comic (esp. an erotic one), aka “dōjinshi”
  4. edition

Measure word 本 běn · 一本本子 yì běn běnzi

How to say 本子

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale本běn3rd tone, dipping
  • Pitch chart of the neutral tone: short and light, with no contour of its own子zineutral tone, light and short

Grey pinyin is a neutral tone: say it short and light. More on the neutral tone

本子 in a sentence

  1. “你这个本子哪里买的？”“网上买的。”“链接发我。”

    “Nǐ zhè ge běnzi nǎlǐ mǎi de?” “Wǎngshàng mǎi de.” “Liànjiē fā wǒ.”

    “Where did you buy this notebook?” “Online.” “Send me the link.”

    Sentence #14038495 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 这是我的本子。

    Zhè shì wǒ de běnzi.

    This is my notebook.

    Sentence by WillyChina

  3. 请把生词写在本子上。

    Qǐng bǎ shēngcí xiě zài běnzi shàng.

    Please write the new words in your notebook.

    Sentence by WillyChina

How 本子 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 本 (běn) with each of its parts in a different colour
本běnroot; stem
  • 木tree · mù
  • 一one · yī

Memory aidA tree 木 with a mark 一 on its roots: root, origin.

The character 子 (zi) with each of its parts in a different colour
子zinoun suffix, as in 椅子 “chair”
  • 了clear · le
  • 一one · yī

Memory aidA baby with its arms out and its legs wrapped up.

How to write 本子

本 5 strokes · 子 3 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

本子 (běnzi) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 本子 (běnzi). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 本子

Words with 本

本běn · measure word for books课本kèběn · textbook笔记本bǐjìběn · notebook本来běnlái · original根本gēnběn · (not) at all本科běnkē · undergraduate course本领běnlǐng · skill本质běnzhì · essence基本jīběn · basic本钱běnqián · capital

Words with 子

儿子érzi · son椅子yǐzi · chair桌子zhuōzi · table杯子bēizi · cup妻子qīzi · wife孩子háizi · child子zi · (common noun suffix)裤子kùzi · pants帽子màozi · hat裙子qúnzi · skirt

More words: School & Work

小学生xiǎoxuéshēng · primary school student学xué · to learn中学zhōngxué · middle school中学生zhōngxuéshēng · middle-school student词cí · word高中gāozhōng · senior high school开学kāixué · to start a new school term校园xiàoyuán · campus

FAQs

本子 (běnzi) means “book” or “notebook”. It is an HSK 3.0 Level 2 word.
Say it běnzi: běn with a 3rd tone, then zi with a neutral tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 本子 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Use 本 (běn). For example, one book is 一本本子 (yì běn běnzi).
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type benzi with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 本子 from the suggestions. Typing benzi into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
本子 is an HSK 3.0 Level 2 word in the official 2021 syllabus, and it is on our HSK 3.0 Band 2 word list. It is not on the older HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Example sentences written by WillyChina. Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.