ZHIZHI 知止 · LEARN CHINESE DAILY

child / son

3 strokes · 子 (child radical) · HSK 1

Where 子 comes from

子 is a picture of a baby: a big head on top, a body, and arms — the legs are wrapped in a swaddling cloth, which is why there's just one stroke at the bottom. It's the same baby you already met inside 好 (woman 女 + child 子 = good).

子 in Chinese culture

子 is incredibly common as a noun-ending suffix that turns words into everyday objects: 桌子 (table), 椅子 (chair), 杯子 (cup), 孩子 (child). In this use it's toneless (zi). 子 was also the highest title of respect for a master — 孔子 is Confucius ('Master Kong'), 老子 is Laozi.

Example

个子 gèzi — height / build (of a person)

他个子很大。
Tā gèzi hěn dà.
He is very tall / big-built.

How to remember it

A big-headed baby with arms out, legs swaddled together — a CHILD.

As a suffix, 子 makes nouns concrete and is pronounced with no tone (zi): 桌子, 椅子, 杯子, 孩子. It's one of the most common syllables in spoken Chinese.

Same sound, different tones

1st zī
resources
3rd zǐ
child
4th zì
written character

Words unlocked by 子

个子 gèzi
height / build
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