How to say “character” in Chinese
character, written sign
“Character” in Chinese is 字, zì: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
字 is read zì. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
宀 “roof” and 子 “child”. In 名字 it is read with the neutral tone: zi.
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 “字”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 字. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 你叫什么名字？nǐjiàoshénmemíngziWhat’s your name?
- 请问您叫什么名字qǐngwèn,nínjiàoshénmemíngziExcuse me, what is your name?
- 你会写汉字吗nǐhuìxiěHànzìmaCan you write Chinese characters?
- 我忘了他的名字wǒwàngletādemíngziI forgot his name.
- 这个字怎样写zhègezìzěnyàngxiěHow do you write this character?
- 黑板上的字我看不清楚。hēibǎnshangdezìwǒkànbuqīngchuI can't make out what's written on the board.
More characters by topic — happiness, luck, strength, nature — on the page “Chinese characters with meanings”.
More words from the lesson “Studying Chinese”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “character” in Chinese?
“Character” in Chinese is 字, pinyin zì.
What does 字 mean?
字 (zì) means “character, written sign”.
How do you write 字?
字 is 1 character. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 字?
字 is read zì. Tones: zì — fourth tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“character” in the lesson “Studying Chinese”
This word is from the topic “Study, work and free time” of HSK 1. 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.
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