HSK 4 · Verbs

指 zhǐ “finger” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 指 means

  1. finger
  2. to point at or to
  3. to indicate or refer to
  4. to depend on
  5. to count on
More meanings from CC-CEDICT
  • (of hair) to stand on end

How to say 指

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale指zhǐ3rd tone, dipping

指 in a sentence

  1. 我不知道你指的是什么。

    Wǒ bù zhīdao nǐ zhǐ de shì shénme.

    I don’t know what you’re referring to.

    Sentence #5650519 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 我给他指了路。

    Wǒ gěi tā zhǐ le lù.

    I showed him the way.

    Sentence #13919367 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters

  3. 我的手指没有感觉。

    Wǒ de shǒuzhǐ méiyǒu gǎnjué.

    I can’t feel my fingers.

    Sentence #5640780 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

How 指 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 指 (zhǐ) with each of its parts in a different colour
指zhǐfinger
  • 扌hand form of 手 · shǒu
  • 旨aim · zhǐ

How to write 指

指 9 strokes

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

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

Words related to 指

Words with 指

手指shǒuzhǐ · finger戒指jièzhi · (finger) ring指导zhǐdǎo · to guide指挥zhǐhuī · to conduct指甲zhǐjia · fingernail指示zhǐshì · to instruct指责zhǐzé · to criticise指定zhǐdìng · to appoint指望zhǐwàng · to count on指令zhǐlìng · instruction

More words: Common Verbs

增加zēngjiā · to raise照zhào · to shine整理zhěnglǐ · to arrange只好zhǐhǎo · to have no other option but to …转zhuǎn · to turn祝贺zhùhè · to congratulate赚zhuàn · to earn自信zìxìn · to have confidence in oneself

FAQs

指 (zhǐ) means “finger” or “to point at or to”. It is an HSK 4 word.
Say it zhǐ: zhǐ with a 3rd tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 指 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type zhi with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 指 from the suggestions. Typing zhi into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
指 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.