How to write 知 (zhī, “to know”)

知 (zhī), an HSK 1 character, means “to know” and “to be aware”. It pairs a meaning part, 口 (“mouth”), with a sound part, 矢 (“arrow”). Among the HSK words it appears in 知道 (“to know”), 知识 (“knowledge”) and 通知 (“to notify”). Japanese reads it chi, “know”, as a JLPT N4 kanji.

Pinyin: zhī
Strokes: 8
HSK: 1
Radical: 矢 (“arrow”)

Stroke by stroke

As a left-right character it splits into 矢 (“arrow”, the radical), strokes 1–5; 口 (“mouth”), strokes 6–8, written the left part first.

Left-falling stroke ㇒top leftdown and left
Horizontal ㇐top leftrightwards
Horizontal ㇐leftrightwards
Left-falling stroke ㇒leftdown and left
Dot ㇔centerdown and right
Vertical ㇑centerdownwards
Horizontal-turn ㇕centerrightwards → downwards
Horizontal ㇐bottomrightwards

Names of the strokes

Japanese and Chinese

Japanese and Chinese draw all 8 strokes in the same order and direction, by our stroke-by-stroke comparison.

Japanese · KanjiVG · 8 strokes

Chinese · Make Me a Hanzi · 8 strokes

Where 知 comes from

mouth

Meaning part: 口 (“mouth”)
Sound part: 矢 (“arrow”)

Trace it

Follow the numbers. Tracing help

Pinyin and meaning

Pinyin	Meanings	Traditional	In words
zhī first tone	to know; to be aware	—	知道知识通知知名

HSK 2025 syllabus: level 1
2021 standard: level 1
HSK 2.0: in a level 2 word
Words with it: 189 in CC-CEDICT

Words with 知

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
知道	zhīdào	to know; to become aware of HSK 1
知识知識	zhīshi	knowledge; intellectual HSK 4
通知	tōngzhī	to notify; to inform HSK 4
知名	zhīmíng	well-known; famous HSK 5
得知	dézhī	to find out; to learn of HSK 6
认知認知	rènzhī	cognition; cognitive HSK 6
众所周知眾所周知	zhòngsuǒzhōuzhī	(idiom) as everyone knows HSK 6
知觉知覺	zhījué	perception; consciousness HSK 7-9
不知不觉不知不覺	bùzhī-bùjué	(idiom) unconsciously; unwittingly HSK 7-9
知识分子知識分子	zhīshifènzǐ	intellectual; intelligentsia HSK 7-9

HSK words first (CC-CEDICT).

Practice sheet

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Keep going

HSK 1, in list order: