Water and ice are the same substance in different forms.
Sentence #522181 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters
How 物质 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.
物wùthing
牛cow · niúMeaning part
勿must not · wùSound part
牛 hints at the meaning (cow); 勿 (wù) hints at the sound. Compare it with wù.
Memory aidAn ox 牛, which the oldest Chinese dictionary calls the largest of things, with 勿 (wù) for the sound: a thing.
质zhìcharacter
厂cliff · hǎn
十ten · shíSound part
贝sea shell · bèiMeaning part
贝 hints at the meaning (sea shell); 十 (shí) hints at the sound. Compare it with zhì.
How to write 物质
物 8 strokes · 质 8 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 物质 (wùzhì). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.
物质 (wùzhì) means “matter” or “substance”. It is an HSK 5 word.
Say it wùzhì: wù with a 4th tone, then zhì 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, 物质 is written 物質. The pronunciation is the same.
Use 个 (gè). For example, one matter is 一个物质 (yí ge wùzhì).
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type wuzhi with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 物质 from the suggestions. Typing wuzhi into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
物质 is an HSK 5 word in the 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.
物wù4th tone, falling
