斋 (zhāi): to fast or abstain from meat, wine etc, vegetarian diet
斋 (zhāi) is a Chinese character meaning “to fast or abstain from meat, wine etc.” Outside the HSK 3.0 syllabus (CLEC 2022), it is composed of 文 (semantic) and 而 (structural). It ranks #3420 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 斋 culture. Its radical form 文 (script) appears in many related characters such as 文 (wén, language), 斑 (bān, spot), 斌 (bīn, refined).
Definitions
- to fast or abstain from meat, wine etc
- vegetarian diet
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 斋 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 斋戒verb | zhāi jiè | to observe a religious fast |
| 斋藤proper-noun | zhāi téng | Saitō (Japanese surname) |
| 斋月noun | zhāi yuè | Ramadan (Islam) |
| 斋期noun | zhāi qī | fasting days |
| 书斋noun | shū zhāi | study (room) |
| 大开斋 | dà kāi zhāi | see 開齋節|开斋节 |
| 大斋期proper-noun | dà zhāi qī | Lent (Christian period of forty days before Easter) |
| 大斋节 | dà zhāi jié | great fast |
| 开斋节proper-noun | kāi zhāi jié | (Islam) Eid al-Fitr, festival that marks the end of Ramadan |
| 大斋 | dà zhāi | to fast |
| 开斋verb | kāi zhāi | to stop following a vegetarian diet |
| 斋果noun | zhāi guǒ | (religious) offerings |
| 封斋节 | fēng zhāi jié | Lent |
| 打斋verb | dǎ zhāi | to beg for (vegetarian) food |
| 斋教noun | zhāi jiào | Zhaijiao sect of Buddhism |
斋 appears in 26 compound words: 38 as the first character, 42 as the last, and 19 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 斋 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (1)
Example Sentences
学习斋字需要反复练习，才能写得工整。
xué xí zhāi zì xū yāo fǎn fù liàn xí , cái néng xiě dé gōng zhěng .
Learning to write the character "斋" requires repeated practice to ensure it is written neatly.
汶航斋月行善暖人心系列义举惠及贫户与孤儿
汶 háng zhāi yuè háng shàn nuǎn rén xīn xì liè yì jǔ huì jí pín hù yǔ gū ér
Wenhang's Series of Charitable Acts During Ramadan Warms Hearts, Benefiting the Poor and Orphans
【战况R5】在港第3仗开斋!呢只巨富拍卖会自己买!
zhàn kuàng R 5 zài gǎng dì 3 zhàng kāi zhāi ! ne zhī jù fù pāi mài huì zì jǐ mǎi !
[Round 5 Update] Third win in Hong Kong! This tycoon bought the lot at his own auction!
跳湖勇救3母女 7青年赴首相官邸与安华开斋
tiào hú yǒng jiù 3 mǔ nǚ 7 qīng nián fù shǒu xiāng guān 邸 yǔ ān huá kāi zhāi
Seven young men who jumped into a lake to rescue a mother and her two daughters visited the Prime Minister’s official residence to break the fast with Anwar
阿联酋驻港总领事馆首办“斋月足球杯” 滙聚穆斯林足球爱好者
ā lián 酋 zhù gǎng zǒng lǐng shì guǎn shǒu bàn zhāi yuè zú qiú bēi 滙 jù mù sī lín zú qiú ài hǎo zhě
The UAE Consulate General in Hong Kong Hosts First-Ever "Ramadan Soccer Cup," Bringing Together Muslim Soccer Enthusiasts
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 文 (culture) component
文 Radical Family — Characters sharing the script radical
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 斋 (zhāi) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 斋 and 慢?
How many strokes does 斋 have?
What is the radical of 斋?
What are the components of 斋?
What are common words containing 斋?
Is 斋 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 斋 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.