挚 (zhì) — sincere, genuine; close (used in compounds)

Definition

挚 (zhì) is a bound morpheme meaning 'sincere, deep' — it never stands alone, only appearing in compounds like 挚友 (close friend) and 挚爱 (deep love).

bound form

sinceregenuineclose (used in compounds)

Easily confused

。
Tā shì wǒ zuì qīn mì de zhì yǒu.
He is my most intimate friend.
。
Tā duì yīn yuè yǒu zhe shēn chén de zhì ài.
She has a profound love for music.
。
Tā men de gǎn qíng fēi cháng zhēn zhì.
Their feelings are very sincere.

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 摯; 挚 is its simplified writing.

執手摯

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

執

執zhí摯⁰zhì

Same sound today

The traditional form 摯 pairs 執 for the sound with 手 for hand; the simplified 挚 is a later abbreviation, so its parts are not the original shape.