帜 (zhì) — (bound form) flag, banner | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

帜 (zhì) is a bound form meaning 'flag/banner' — it only appears after another morpheme (e.g. 旗帜, 独树一帜), never as a standalone word.

bound form

flagbanner

Easily confused

，。
Yùn dòng chǎng shàng qí zhì piāo yáng, qì fen rè liè.
Banners fluttered over the sports field, and the atmosphere was lively.
。
Zhè jiā gōng sī zài háng yè zhōng dú shù yí zhì.
This company stands out as unique in its industry.
。
Tā men gāo jǔ zhe shèng lì de qí zhì.
They held high the banner of victory.

Sound + meaning

六书liùshū

形声xíngshēng

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 幟; 帜 is its simplified writing.

巾戠幟

Meaning part形符xíngfú

巾巾jīncloth

Sound part声符shēngfú

戠

戠zhí幟zhì

Same sound today

The traditional form 幟 pairs 巾, cloth, with 戠 giving the sound; the modern 帜 is a simplified shape.