Sentence #13155995 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted
How 汉字 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.
汉hànman
氵water form of 水 · shuǐ
又again · yòu
Memory aidSimplified from 漢, the Han River 氵. The river gave its name to the Han dynasty and then to the Chinese people.
字zìletter
宀roof · mián
子child · zǐ
Memory aidA child 子 under a roof 宀, learning to write: a written character.
How to write 汉字
汉 5 strokes · 字 6 strokes
Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.
Stroke order chart for 汉字 (hànzì). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.
汉字 (hànzì) means “Chinese character” or “Japanese: kanji”. It is an HSK 3.0 Level 1 word.
Say it hànzì: hàn with a 4th tone, then zì with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 汉字 is written 漢字. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type hanzi with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 汉字 from the suggestions. Typing hanzi into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
汉字 is an HSK 3.0 Level 1 word in the official 2021 syllabus, and it is on our HSK 3.0 Band 1 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). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.
汉hàn4th tone, falling
