Meaning
from; self; oneself; since
Chinese: 自己、从、由。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “zi” becomes a different word in each tone. 自 is the 4th 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
- 自己zì jǐoneself; (attributive) one's own
- 来自lái zìto come from (a place); From: (in email header)
- 自由zì yóufreedom; liberty; free; unrestricted
- 自行车zì xíng chēbicycle; bike
- 大自然dà zì ránnature (the natural world)
Example Sentence
这件事要靠你自己决定。Zhè jiàn shì yào kào nǐ zì jǐ jué dìng.You have to decide this matter yourself.
这Zhèthis件jiànitem事shìmatter要yàoto want靠kàoto lean against or on你nǐyou自己zì jǐoneself决定jué dìngdecision (CL:个,项)。
Go deeper
Where this character comes from
A pictograph of a nose. Chinese speakers point at their own nose to mean ‘me’, so the character came to mean ‘self’. (The newer character for nose, 鼻, is built on top of it.)
A way to remember it
Point at your own nose — that means ‘self’.