子 zǐ, zi — child, son; a seed; (unstressed, zi) the noun suffix of 桌子, 儿子, 孩子
zǐ (third tone, dipping) zi (neutral tone)
2 readings — the first is the most common.
child, son; a seed; (unstressed, zi) the noun suffix of 桌子, 儿子, 孩子
3 strokesRadical 子Frequency #22
Pinyin
- zǐ (third tone, dipping)most common
- zi (neutral tone)
child, son; a seed; (unstressed, zi) the noun suffix of 桌子, 儿子, 孩子
Character breakdown
Mnemonic
A baby with an outsized head, a single horizontal for the arms held out, and the body wrapped below so the legs never appear. Stressed, zǐ, it means a child or a seed. Unstressed it is the commonest noun ending in the language — 桌子, 椅子, 儿子 — where it carries no tone and no meaning of its own. It is also the child taught under a roof in 学 and the child beside the woman in 好.
A memory aid written by HSK Guide editors. It is not an etymology and does not describe the historical origin of the character.
Words containing 子
- 孩子háizi (second tone, rising)child, kid
- 儿子兒子érzi (second tone, rising)son
- 妻子qīzi (first tone, high and level)wife
- 桌子zhuōzi (first tone, high and level)table, desk
- 句子jùzi (fourth tone, falling)sentence
- 椅子yǐzi (third tone, dipping)chair
- 杯子bēizi (first tone, high and level)cup, glass
- 鼻子bízi (second tone, rising)nose
- 帽子màozi (fourth tone, falling)hat, cap
- 盘子盤子pánzi (second tone, rising)plate, dish
- 个子個子gèzi (fourth tone, falling)height, stature (of a person)
- 裙子qúnzi (second tone, rising)skirt, dress
- 筷子kuàizi (fourth tone, falling)chopsticks
- 裤子褲子kùzi (fourth tone, falling)trousers, a pair of trousers
- 电子邮件電子郵件diànzǐ (fourth tone, falling) yóujiàn (second tone, rising)email, electronic mail