Learn Chinese Characters

Meaning

branch; (a measure word)

Chinese: 树枝、分支。

Hear the Four Tones

The same syllable “zhi” becomes a different word in each tone. 枝 is the 1st tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.

Stroke Order

Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.

Common Words

  • 树枝shù zhībranch; twig
  • 枝子zhī zitwig; branch
  • 分枝fēn zhībranch
  • 枝条zhī tiáobranch; twig; stem
  • 接枝jiē zhī(tree) graft

Example Sentence

小鸟站在树枝上唱歌。Xiǎo niǎo zhàn zài shù zhī shàng chàng gē.The little bird stands on a branch and sings.

小鸟Xiǎo niǎosmall birdzhànstationzàiat树枝shù zhībranchshàngon唱歌chàng gēto sing a song

Go deeper

Where this character comes from

Trees (木, meaning) plus 支 (zhī, sound): a part that branches off a tree — a ‘branch / twig’.

A way to remember it

A tree (木) + the sound 支 — a branch.

Easy to confuse with

  • zhī‘To branch / support’: the sound part of 枝, without the tree on the left.