This was a spontaneous event; nobody asked anyone to do it.
Sentence by WillyChina
How 自发 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.
自zìself; oneself
自 is a single shape of 6 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.
Memory aidDrawn from a nose. The usual explanation is that people point to their nose to mean “me”, so it came to mean “self”.
发fāto send out
发 is a single shape of 5 strokes. Learn it whole, then watch its stroke order below.
How to write 自发
自 6 strokes · 发 5 strokes
Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.
Stroke order chart for 自发 (zìfā). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.
自发 (zìfā) means “spontaneous” or “voluntary”. It is an HSK 6 word.
Say it zìfā: zì with a 4th tone, then fā with a 1st 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, 自发 is written 自發. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type zifa with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 自发 from the suggestions. Typing zifa into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
自发 is an HSK 6 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.
Turn words into conversations
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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.
自zì4th tone, falling
发fā1st tone, high and level
