弛 (chí): to unstring a bow, to slacken, to relax

弛 (chí) is a Chinese character meaning “to unstring a bow.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 弓 (semantic) and 也 (phonetic). It ranks #2889 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Etymologically derived, 弛 bow. Its radical form 弓 (bow) appears in many related characters such as 弟 (dì, younger brother), 张 (zhāng, to open up), 强 (qiáng, stubborn).

Spoken pronunciation

Definitions

  1. to unstring a bow
  2. to slacken
  3. to relax

Etymology & Origin

弛

pictophoneticbow

Decomposition: ⿰弓也 (layout: left-right)

Stroke Order

1
2
3
4
5
6

Practice writing 弛 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.

Words & Compounds

Common Compounds

WordPinyinMeaning
松弛adjectivesōng chíto relax
弛缓adjectivechí huǎnto relax
张弛zhāng chítension and relaxation
松弛法sōng chí fǎrelaxation (alternative medicine)
弛张热chí zhāng rèremittent fever
肌肉松弛剂jī ròu sōng chí jìmuscle relaxant (medicine)
废弛verbfèi chíto fall into disuse (of laws, customs etc)
懈弛xiè chíslack (discipline)
8
Total compounds
25
As first character
50
As last character
25
As middle character

弛 appears in 8 compound words: 25 as the first character, 50 as the last, and 25 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.

Strongest Collocations

Characters that most frequently co-occur with 弛 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.

松sōng
0.5351,029 co-occurrences
豫yù
0.526354 co-occurrences
肌jī
0.510397 co-occurrences
废fèi
0.457252 co-occurrences
懈xiè
0.45538 co-occurrences
肉ròu
0.439278 co-occurrences
怠dài
0.41922 co-occurrences
禁jìn
0.388219 co-occurrences
张zhāng
0.383286 co-occurrences
缓huǎn
0.38360 co-occurrences

Example Sentences

AI-Generated

这个弛字的意思与它的部首有关。

zhè gě chí zì de yì sī yú tā de bù shǒu yǒu guān .

The meaning of the character "弛" is related to its radical.

中国新闻网·文化Aug 2026

不少年轻游客表示,来福建不只是为了看风景,更想体验一种松弛鲜活的生活方式。

bù shǎo nián qīng yóu kè biǎo shì , lái fú jiàn bù zhī shì wéi le kàn fēng jǐng , gēng xiǎng tǐ yàn yī zhǒng sōng chí xiān huó de shēng huó fāng shì .

Many young tourists say they come to Fujian not just to see the sights, but also to experience a relaxed and vibrant lifestyle.

中国新闻网·文化Aug 2026

演员与观众零距离互动,情绪表达松弛自然,笑点铺垫真实接地气。

yǎn yuán yǔ guàn zhòng líng jù lí hù dòng , qíng xù biǎo dá sōng chí zì rán , xiào diǎn pù diàn zhēn shí jiē dì qì .

The actors interact with the audience up close, expressing their emotions in a relaxed and natural way, and the buildup to the comedy is authentic and down-to-earth.

中国新闻网·文化Aug 2026

这个平时大大咧咧的松弛父亲,面对“新女儿”时变得格外轻柔。

zhè gè píng shí dà dà liě liě de sōng chí fù qīn , miàn duì xīn nǚ ér shí biàn dé gé wài qīng róu .

This usually laid-back and easygoing father becomes exceptionally gentle when faced with his “new daughter.”

SmzdmMar 2026

中年女性眼皮松弛下垂?温润养护眼油提拉收紧眼轮廓

zhōng nián nǚ xìng yǎn pí sōng chí xià chuí ? wēn rùn yǎng hù yǎn yóu tí lā shōu jǐn yǎn lún kuò

Are your eyelids sagging as you age? Try this nourishing eye oil to lift and firm the eye area.

99 健康网Feb 2026

...生小便后甩一甩会不会导致尿失禁?盆底肌松弛者需谨慎吗

. . . shēng xiǎo biàn hòu shuǎi yī shuǎi huì bù huì dǎo zhì niào shī jīn ? pén de jī sōng chí zhě xū jǐn shèn ma

... Will a shake after urinating cause urinary incontinence? Should people with loose pelvic floor muscles be cautious?

Character Family

Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 弓 (bow) component

弓 Radical Family — Characters sharing the bow radical

Homophones — Characters pronounced chí

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 弛 (chí) mean in Chinese?
弛 (chí) primarily means "to unstring a bow." It is classified as HSK Level 7-9, making it an expert-level character. It ranks #2889 in character frequency.
What's the difference between 弛 and 地?
弛 (chí) and 地 (dì) are often confused. confusable. The key distinguishing feature: 弓 vs 土 (same 也 component).
How many strokes does 弛 have?
弛 is written with 6 strokes. The correct stroke order matters for recognition and handwriting speed — practice with the animated guide above to build proper technique.
What is the radical of 弛?
The radical associated with 弛 is 弓 (bow). This radical appears in many characters related to bow.
What are the components of 弛?
弛 is composed of: 弓 (semantic), 也 (phonetic). Its IDS decomposition is ⿰弓也 with a left-right layout. Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.
What are common words containing 弛?
Common words with 弛 include: 松弛 (sōng chí, "to relax"); 弛缓 (chí huǎn, "to relax"); 张弛 (zhāng chí, "tension and relaxation"); 松弛法 (sōng chí fǎ, "relaxation (alternative medicine)"); 弛张热 (chí zhāng rè, "remittent fever"). There are over 8 compound words containing this character.
What characters sound the same as 弛 (chí)?
Several characters share the pronunciation chí: 池 (pool), 驰 (to gallop), 持 (to hold, to maintain), 吃 (to eat), and 5 more. Context and tones help distinguish between them in speech and writing.
Is 弛 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Yes, 弛 is written the same way in both simplified and traditional Chinese.

Practice writing 弛 with real-time feedback

Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.

Character data sourced from Unihan (Unicode Consortium), SUBTLEX-CH frequency corpus (Cai & Brysbaert, 2010), and Make Me a Hanzi (stroke data). Collocation strength measured via NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information). Verified by the HanziFeed linguistics team.

HSK classification follows the HSK 3.0 Standard (Center for Language Education and Cooperation, CLEC, 2022 revision). Idiom data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Data last verified: March 2026.