How to say “letter” in Chinese
letter (of the alphabet)
“Letter” in Chinese is 字母, zì mǔ: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
字母 is read zì mǔ: 2 syllables. 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.
Originally a drawing of a woman with breasts: the two dots inside. The same sign appears in 每 and 海.
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 “字母”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 字母. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 拼音是用字母写的pīnyīnshìyòngzìmǔxiědePinyin is written with letters.
More words from the lesson “Sounds and Letters”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “letter” in Chinese?
“Letter” in Chinese is 字母, pinyin zìmǔ.
What does 字母 mean?
字母 (zìmǔ) means “letter (of the alphabet)”.
How do you write 字母?
字母 is 2 characters: 字 (zì) — sign, character; 母 (mǔ) — mother. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 字母?
字母 is read zìmǔ. Tones: zì — fourth tone, mǔ — third tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“letter” in the lesson “Sounds and Letters”
This word is from the topic “Learning and Language” of HSK 5. 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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