之 — particle 的
particle 的 (lit.)
How to pronounce it
之 is read zhī. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
In literary Chinese it works like 的. It lives in 之前, 之后, 之间.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “之”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 之. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 面试之前，我准备了很久。miànshìzhīqián,wǒzhǔnbèilehěnjiǔBefore the interview I prepared for a long time.
- 毕业之后他当了记者bìyèzhīhòu,tādānglejìzhěAfter graduating he became a journalist.
- 朋友之间应该互相帮助。péngyouzhījiānyīnggāihùxiāngbāngzhùFriends should help each other.
- 她是我最好的朋友之一。tāshìwǒzuìhǎodepéngyouzhīyīShe's one of my best friends.
- 老年人占社区居民的三分之一。lǎoniánrénzhànshèqūjūmíndesānfēnzhīyīOlder people make up a third of the neighborhood's residents.
- 请在五号之前提交材料qǐngzàiwǔhàozhīqiántíjiāocáiliàoPlease submit the documents before the fifth.
More characters by topic — happiness, luck, strength, nature — on the page “Chinese characters with meanings”.
More words from the lesson “The language of newspapers and documents”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
What does 之 mean?
之 (zhī) means “particle 的 (lit.)”.
How do you write 之?
之 is 1 character. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 之?
之 is read zhī. Tones: zhī — first tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“particle 的” in the lesson “The language of newspapers and documents”
This word is from the topic “Society and country” of HSK 4. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
Start for free