持 (chí): to hold, to maintain
持 (chí) is a Chinese character meaning “to hold, to maintain.” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 扌 (semantic) and 寺 (phonetic). It ranks #357 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 持 hand. Its radical form 扌 (hand) appears in many related characters such as 手 (shǒu, hand), 打 (dǎ, hit, make), 找 (zhǎo, to look for).
Definitions
- to hold, to maintain
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 持 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 持
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 保持verb | bǎo chí | to keep | 5 |
| 支持verb | zhī chí | to be in favor of | 4 |
| 坚持verb | jiān chí | to persevere with | 3 |
| 持续verb | chí xù | to continue | 5 |
| 维持verb | wéi chí | to keep | 5 |
| 主持verb | zhǔ chí | to take charge of | 5 |
| 持有verb | chí yǒu | to hold (passport, views etc) | 6 |
| 持久adjective | chí jiǔ | lasting | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 主持人noun | zhǔ chí rén | host |
| 劫持verb | jié chí | to kidnap |
| 持枪verb | chí qiāng | to carry a gun |
| 支持者noun | zhī chí zhě | supporter |
| 挟持verb | xié chí | to seize (sb) by the arms |
| 持械verb | chí xiè | armed (robbery etc) |
| 扶持verb | fú chí | to help |
| 坚持不懈phrase | jiān chí bù xiè | (idiom) to persevere unremittingly |
| 支持率 | zhī chí lǜ | support level |
| 矜持adjective | jīn chí | reserved |
| 把持verb | bǎ chí | to control |
| 胁持 | xié chí | to hold under duress |
| 僵持verb | jiāng chí | to be deadlocked |
| 持久战noun | chí jiǔ zhàn | prolonged war |
| 持平adjective | chí píng | to stay level (of exchange rate, market share etc) |
持 appears in 90 compound words: 32 as the first character, 41 as the last, and 27 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 持 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (11)
to be locked in a stalemate; neither side is winning or yielding in a standoff
Example Sentences
请保持冷静，我们会尽快解决这个问题。
Qǐng bǎochí lěngjìng, wǒmen huì jǐnkuài jiějué zhè gè wèntí.
Please remain calm; we will resolve this issue as soon as possible.
年初二全国高速公路流量快速回升,午后车流持续保持高..
nián chū èr quán guó gāo sù gōng lù liú liáng kuài sù huí shēng , wǔ hòu chē liú chí xù bǎo chí gāo . .
Traffic volume on national expressways rebounded rapidly on the second day of the Lunar New Year, with high levels persisting throughout the afternoon.
段永平1200亿元持仓曝光
duàn yǒng píng yì yuán chí cāng bào guāng
Duan Yongping's 120 Billion Yuan Holdings Exposed
美政府移民政策支持率创新低 国土安全部发言人离职
měi zhèng fǔ yí mín zhèng cè zhī chí lǜ chuàng xīn dī guó tǔ ān quán bù fā yán rén chī zhí
U.S. Immigration Policy Approval Hits Record Low as Homeland Security Spokesperson Steps Down
国际贵金属价格持续走高,现货黄金再度站上5000美..
guó jì guì jīn shǔ jiè gé chí xù zǒu gāo , xiàn huò huáng jīn zài dù zhàn shǎng měi . .
International precious metal prices continue to climb, with spot gold once again surpassing the $5,000 mark.
突发:一男子手持霰弹枪冲向美国国会大厦
tū fā yī nán zǐ shǒu chí 霰 dàn qiāng chōng xiàng měi guó guó huì dà xià
Breaking: Man Charged Toward U.S. Capitol Building with Shotgun
用100美元可以支持多久？
Yòng 100 Měiyuán kěyǐ zhīchí duōjiǔ?
How long can it be kept going with 100 dollars?
这种症状在我身上将会持续多久？
Zhèzhǒng zhēng zhuàng zài wǒ shēnshang jiānghuì chíxù duōjiǔ?
For how long will I continue to have these symptoms?
你支持还是反对堕胎？
Nǐ zhīchí háishi fǎnduì duòtāi?
Are you for or against abortion?
为什么美国政府让人们持有枪械？
Wèishénme Měiguó zhèngfǔ ràng rénmen chíyǒu qiāngxiè?
Why does the US government let people have guns?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 持 (chí) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 持 and 特?
How many strokes does 持 have?
What is the radical of 持?
What are the components of 持?
What are common words containing 持?
What characters sound the same as 持 (chí)?
Is 持 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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