HSK 4 · Objects

样子 yàngzi “appearance” in Chinese

Traditional 樣子

What 样子 means

  1. appearance
  2. manner
  3. pattern
  4. model

How to say 样子

  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale样yàng4th tone, falling
  • 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

样子 in a sentence

  1. 我不喜欢他笑的样子。

    Wǒ bù xǐhuan tā xiào de yàngzi.

    I don’t like the way he smiles.

    Sentence #1746060 from Tatoeba

  2. 她不喜欢这条裙子的样子。

    Tā bù xǐhuan zhè tiáo qúnzi de yàngzi.

    She doesn’t like how the skirt looks.

    Sentence #3704425 from Tatoeba

  3. 看看天的样子，要下雨了。

    Kànkan tiān de yàngzi, yào xiàyǔ le.

    Judging from the look of the sky, it is likely to rain.

    Sentence #5691236 from Tatoeba

How 样子 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 样 (yàng) with each of its parts in a different colour
样yàngmanner
  • 木tree · mùMeaning part
  • 羊sheep · yángSound part

木 hints at the meaning (tree); 羊 (yáng) hints at the sound. Compare it with yàng.

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 样子

样 10 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.

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

Words related to 样子

Words with 样

怎么样zěnmeyàng · how is it那样nàyàng · that kind这样zhèyàng · this kind of一样yíyàng · the same怎样zěnyàng · how同样tóngyàng · likewise样式yàngshì · type模样múyàng · appearance样品yàngpǐn · sample榜样bǎngyàng · role model

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本子běnzi · book子zi · (common noun suffix)裤子kùzi · pants帽子màozi · hat

More words: Everyday Things

性别xìngbié · gender性格xìnggé · nature压力yālì · pressure牙膏yágāo · toothpaste钥匙yàoshi · key印象yìnxiàng · impression羽毛球yǔmáoqiú · shuttlecock原因yuányīn · cause

FAQs

样子 (yàngzi) means “appearance” or “manner”. It is an HSK 4 word.
Say it yàngzi: yàng with a 4th 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.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 样子 is written 樣子. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type yangzi with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 样子 from the suggestions. Typing yangzi into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
样子 is an HSK 4 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.