字
zì/t͡sɹ̩⁵¹/
The English phrase 'zi' refers to the Chinese word 字 (zì), which means a single character or letter used in writing.
字 refers to the individual characters or letters used in written language. The verb 写 (xiě, to write) is frequently combined with 字 (zì) to form the common verb-object construction 写字 (xiě zì), meaning 'to write' or 'to write characters'.
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is zì. The IPA is /tsɹ̩⁵¹/.
Did you know?
- The word 字 is a distant relative of the Tibetan word tsha bo, which means 'nephew'. Both share a root connected to descendants and family.
Examples in context
- 自行车Bicycle
- 自由Freedom
- 汉字Chinese characters
- 这个字怎么写？zhège zì zěnme xiě?How do you write this character?
- 我会写很多汉字。wǒ huì xiě hěnduō Hànzì.I can write many Chinese characters.
- 请写下你的名字。qǐng xiě xià nǐ de míngzì.Please write down your name.
Example conversation
A student is asking a teacher about a specific character.
- 俊杰 Junjie老师，这个字太难了。lǎoshī, zhège zì tài nán le.Teacher, this character is too difficult.
- 佳怡 Jiayi没关系，我教你写这个字。méi guānxi, wǒ jiāo nǐ xiě zhège zì.It's okay, I'll teach you how to write this character.
- 俊杰 Junjie谢谢老师，我明白了。xièxiè lǎoshī, wǒ míngbai le.Thank you, teacher, I understand now.
- 佳怡 Jiayi加油，多练习这些字。jiāyóu, duō liànxí zhèxiē zì.Keep it up, practice these characters more.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 字, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 字, CC BY-SA 4.0.
