HSK 5 · Function Words

支 zhī “measure word for pens” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 支 means

  1. measure word for pens, songs, teams
  2. to support
  3. to prop up
  4. to sustain
  5. to erect
More meanings from CC-CEDICT
  • to raise
  • branch
  • division

How to say 支

  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale支zhī1st tone, high and level

支 in a sentence

  1. 这支铅笔是谁的？

    Zhè zhī qiānbǐ shì shéi de?

    Whose pencil is this?

    Sentence #1328157 from Tatoeba

  2. 你有多少支球拍？

    Nǐ yǒu duōshǎo zhī qiúpāi?

    How many racquets do you have?

    Sentence #846163 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 我支持你。

    Wǒ zhīchí nǐ.

    I support you.

    Sentence #454506 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 支 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 支 (zhī) with each of its parts in a different colour
支zhīto support
  • 十ten · shí
  • 又again · yòu

How to write 支

支 4 strokes

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

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

Words related to 支

Words with 支

支持zhīchí · to support支票zhīpiào · cheque支撑zhīchēng · to support支配zhīpèi · to control支援zhīyuán · to support开支kāizhī · expenses支出zhīchū · expenditure支流zhīliú · tributary (river)支柱zhīzhù · pillar

More words: Function Words & Grammar

照常zhàocháng · as usual阵zhèn · measure word for short bursts (of rain整个zhěnggè · whole正zhèng · just (in the middle of doing something)至于zhìyú · as for逐步zhúbù · progressively主动zhǔdòng · to take the initiative自从zìcóng · since (a time)

FAQs

支 (zhī) means “measure word for pens, songs, teams” or “to support”. It is an HSK 5 word.
Say it zhī: zhī with a 1st tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 支 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 支 from the suggestions. Typing zhi into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
支 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.