HSK 1 · Common Objects

字 zì “character” in Chinese

Same in Traditional

What 字 means

  1. character, letter
  2. symbol
  3. word
  4. courtesy or style name traditionally given to males aged 20 in dynastic China

Measure word 个 gè · 一个字 yí ge zì

How to say 字

  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale字zì4th tone, falling

字 in a sentence

  1. 这个字怎么念？

    Zhè ge zì zěnme niàn?

    How do you read this character?

    Sentence #1216051 from Tatoeba

  2. 汉语字是很美丽的。

    Hànyǔ zì shì hěn měilì de.

    Chinese characters are very beautiful.

    Sentence #333494 from Tatoeba

  3. 你知道这是谁的字吗？

    Nǐ zhīdao zhè shì shéi de zì ma?

    Do you know whose handwriting this is?

    Sentence #4887572 from Tatoeba

How 字 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 字 (zì) with each of its parts in a different colour
字zìletter
  • 宀roof · mián
  • 子child · zǐ

Memory aidA child 子 under a roof 宀, learning to write: a written character.

How to write 字

字 6 strokes

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

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

Words related to 字

Words with 字

名字míngzi · name汉字hànzì · Chinese character字典zìdiǎn · dictionary (of characters)数字shùzì · numeral文字wénzì · writing字母zìmǔ · letter (of the alphabet)字幕zìmù · caption赤字chìzì · deficit繁体字fántǐzì · traditional Chinese character简体字jiǎntǐzì · simplified Chinese characters

More words: Everyday Things

天气tiānqì · weather猫māo · cat狗gǒu · dog东西dōngxi · thing汉语Hànyǔ · Mandarin (Han language)报纸bàozhǐ · newspaper考试kǎoshì · exam课kè · class

FAQs

字 (zì) means “character, letter” or “symbol”. It is an HSK 1 word, so it is one of the words learners meet early.
Say it zì: zì with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
Yes. 字 is written the same way in Simplified and Traditional characters.
Use 个 (gè). For example, one character is 一个字 (yí ge zì).
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type zi with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 字 from the suggestions. Typing zi into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
字 is an HSK 1 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

Turn words into conversations

A dictionary gives you the words. A native teacher shows you how to use them. Start with a free 30-minute intro call.

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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.