字 (zì) — character; word; handwriting

字 (zì)

字 refers to a written character or script unit in Chinese, and by extension can mean a word, a letter, or someone's handwriting style.

Meanings

1. [noun] a written character (a single Chinese character or letter)
2. [noun] a word or written form of a word
3. [noun] handwriting; one's style of writing

Example Sentences

这个字怎么写？ Zhège zì zěnme xiě? How do you write this character?

他的字写得很漂亮。 Tā de zì xiě de hěn piàoliang. His handwriting is very beautiful.

这篇文章一共有五百个字。 Zhè piān wénzhāng yīgòng yǒu wǔbǎi gè zì. This article has five hundred characters in total.

学中文要先学认字。 Xué Zhōngwén yào xiān xué rèn zì. To learn Chinese, you must first learn to recognize characters.

Collocations

Memory Hook

The character 字 shows a child (子) under a roof (宀), an image of a child learning to write at home, which is exactly what 字 represents: written characters learned from childhood.