How to write 子 (zǐ, “son”)
子, an HSK 1 character, is read zǐ for “son” and “child”, and also zi (“noun suffix, as in 椅子 "chair"”). As an overlapping character it splits into 了 (“completed action marker”), strokes 1–2; 一 (“one”), stroke 3, written the first part first. Its 3 strokes put it among the simplest at HSK 1. On its own it is an HSK 3 word; it also forms 儿子 (“son”), 包子 (“baozi”) and 孩子 (“child”). Japanese reads it shi, “child”, as a JLPT N5 kanji.
- Pinyin
- zǐ, zi
- Strokes
- 3
- HSK
- 1
- Radical
- 子 (“son”)
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- Horizontal hook ㇖top leftrightwards → down and left
- Curved hook ㇁topdownwards → leftwards
- Horizontal ㇐leftrightwards
Japanese and Chinese
Japanese and Chinese draw all 3 strokes in the same order and direction, by our stroke-by-stroke comparison.
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Pinyin and meaning
| Pinyin | Meanings | Traditional | In words |
|---|---|---|---|
| zǐ third tone | son; child; seed; egg; small thing | — | — |
| zi neutral tone | noun suffix, as in 椅子 (yǐzi) "chair" | — | 儿子 包子 孩子 杯子 |
- HSK 2025 syllabus
- level 1
- 2021 standard
- level 1
- HSK 2.0
- in a level 1 word
- Words with it
- 1,387 in CC-CEDICT
Words with 子
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 子 | zi | noun suffix, as in 椅子 (yǐzi) "chair" HSK 3 |
| 儿子 兒子 | érzi | son HSK 1 |
| 包子 | bāozi | baozi; bao (steamed stuffed bun) HSK 1 |
| 孩子 | háizi | child HSK 1 |
| 杯子 | bēizi | cup; glass HSK 1 |
| 桌子 | zhuōzi | table; desk HSK 1 |
| 椅子 | yǐzi | chair HSK 1 |
| 饺子 餃子 | jiǎozi | dumpling; pot-sticker HSK 1 |
| 个子 個子 | gèzi | stature; height HSK 2 |
| 本子 | běnzi | book; notebook HSK 2 |
HSK words first (CC-CEDICT).
Practice sheet
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Contain it:
HSK 1, in list order: