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汉字 (hàn zì) — Chinese character

Definition

汉字 specifically means the written characters of Chinese. Compare 汉语, which means the Chinese language itself (spoken and written).

noun
Chinese character
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 汉字。
    Wǒ xiě yí gè hàn zì.
    I write one Chinese character.
  • 汉字？
    Nǐ huì xiě zhè hàn zì ma?
    Can you write this Chinese character?
  • 汉字。
    Tā dú yí gè hàn zì.
    He reads one Chinese character.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

汉hànHan
字zìcharacter

汉 names the Han people and 字 means character, together Chinese character.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 汉 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
宀宀miánroof
Sound part声符shēngfú
子
子zǐ字zì
Same sound today

字 pairs 宀 (roof) with 子 (child); 子 gives the sound, while 宀 relates to the meaning.

Open 字 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 1LanguageReading & Writing

Browse more HSK 1 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.