Where 自 comes from
A nose; in China, people refer to themselves by pointing to their noses
How to write 自 (zì, “self”)
自 (zì), an HSK 2 character, means “self”, “from” and “naturally”. It is a picture-like character. On its own it is an HSK 4 word; it also forms 自己 (“oneself”), 来自 (“to come from”) and 自行车 (“bicycle”). Japanese reads it shi, “oneself”, as a JLPT N4 kanji.
- Pinyin
- zì
- Strokes
- 6
- HSK
- 2
- Radical
- 自 (“self”)
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- topdown and right → down and left
- top leftdownwards
- top leftrightwards → downwards
- leftrightwards
- leftrightwards
- bottom leftrightwards
Japanese and Chinese
The two models differ in shape, so our comparison does not claim an order; compare the numbered frames yourself (6 strokes in Japanese, 6 strokes in Chinese).
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Pinyin and meaning
| Pinyin | Meanings | Traditional | In words |
|---|---|---|---|
| zì fourth tone | (bound form) self; oneself; from; since; naturally; as a matter of course | — | 自己 来自 自行车 自习 |
- HSK 2025 syllabus
- level 2
- 2021 standard
- level 2
- HSK 2.0
- in a level 2 word
- Words with it
- 498 in CC-CEDICT
Words with 自
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 自 | zì | self; oneself HSK 4 |
| 自己 | zìjǐ | oneself; (attributive) one's own HSK 2 |
| 来自 來自 | láizì | to come from (a place); From: HSK 3 |
| 自行车 自行車 | zìxíngchē | bicycle; bike HSK 3 |
| 自习 自習 | zìxí | to study outside of class time (reviewing one's lessons); to study in… HSK 4 |
| 自学 自學 | zìxué | self-study; to study on one's own HSK 4 |
| 自然 | zìrán | nature; natural HSK 4 |
| 大自然 | dàzìrán | nature (the natural world) HSK 4 |
| 自信 | zìxìn | to have confidence in oneself; self-confidence HSK 4 |
| 出自 | chūzì | to come from HSK 5 |
HSK words first (CC-CEDICT).
Practice sheet
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Keep going
Contain it:
HSK 2, in list order: