HSK 6 · Nature

种子 zhǒngzi “seed” in Chinese

Traditional 種子

What 种子 means

  1. seed

Measure word 颗 kē or 粒 lì · 一颗种子 yì kē zhǒngzi

How to say 种子

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale种zhǒng3rd tone, dipping
  • 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

种子 in a sentence

  1. 春天到了，农民把种子种到地里。

    Chūntiān dào le, nóngmín bǎ zhǒngzi zhòng dào dì lǐ.

    Spring has come, and farmers are planting seeds in the fields.

    Sentence by WillyChina

  2. 这个西瓜的种子很少。

    Zhè ge xīguā de zhǒngzi hěn shǎo.

    This watermelon has very few seeds.

    Sentence by WillyChina

How 种子 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 种 (zhǒng) with each of its parts in a different colour
种zhǒngseed
  • 禾grain · héMeaning part
  • 中central · zhōngSound part

禾 hints at the meaning (grain); 中 (zhōng) hints at the sound. Compare it with zhǒng.

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 种子

种 9 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.

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

Words related to 种子

Words with 种

种zhǒng · kind种类zhǒnglèi · kind种族zhǒngzú · race播种bōzhǒng · to sow seeds品种pǐnzhǒng · variety种植zhòngzhí · to plant

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: Nature & Environment

岸àn · bank彩虹cǎihóng · rainbow蒸发zhēngfā · to evaporate枝zhī · branch支流zhīliú · tributary (river)种植zhòngzhí · to plant株zhū · (measure word for plants and trees)庄稼zhuāngjia · crops

FAQs

种子 (zhǒngzi) means “seed”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it zhǒngzi: zhǒng with a 3rd 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, 种子 is written 種子. The pronunciation is the same.
Use 颗 (kē) or 粒 (lì). For example, one seed is 一颗种子 (yì kē zhǒngzi).
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type zhongzi with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 种子 from the suggestions. Typing zhongzi into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
种子 is an HSK 6 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 written by WillyChina. Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.