哲 (zhé): wise, a sage
哲 (zhé) is a Chinese character meaning “wise.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 折 (phonetic) and 口 (semantic). It ranks #1116 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 哲 mouth. Its radical form 口 (mouth) appears in many related characters such as 口 (kǒu, mouth), 叫 (jiào, to call, to be called), 右 (yòu, (bound form) right).
Definitions
- wise
- a sage
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 哲 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 哲
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 哲学家 | zhé xué jiā | philosopher |
| 哲理 | zhé lǐ | philosophic theory |
| 哲人 | zhé rén | wise man |
| 范思哲 | fàn sī zhé | Versace (fashion designer) |
| 明哲保身 | míng zhé bǎo shēn | a wise man looks after his own hide (idiom) |
| 麦哲伦 | mài zhé lún | Magellan (1480-1521), Portuguese explorer |
| 哲人石 | zhé rén shí | philosopher's stone |
| 哲学史 | zhé xué shǐ | history of philosophy |
| 哲学博士 | zhé xué bó shì | Doctor of Philosophy |
| 先哲 | xiān zhé | the wise and learned individuals of the past |
| 柏拉图哲学 | bó lā tú zhé xué | Platonism |
| 李远哲 | lǐ yuǎn zhé | Yuan T. Lee (1936-), Taiwanese-born Chemist and Nobel Prize winner in 1986 |
| 马哲 | mǎ zhé | Marxist philosophy |
| 哲人其萎 | zhé rén qí wěi | a wise man has passed away (idiom) |
| 李哲 | lǐ zhé | Li Zhe, personal name of fourth Tang Emperor Zhongzong 唐中宗[Tang2 Zhong1 zong1] (656-710), reigned 705-710 |
哲 appears in 24 compound words: 38 as the first character, 38 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 哲 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (3)
Showing 2 of 3 idioms containing 哲.
Example Sentences
哲学是一门深奥的学问，需要长期思考。
Zhéxué shì yī mén shēn'ào de xuéwen, xūyào chángqī sīkǎo.
Philosophy is a profound subject that requires long-term contemplation.
交流琐事 探讨哲学 互相点赞,AI开始“社交”意味着什么...
jiāo liú suǒ shì tàn tǎo zhé xué hù xiāng diǎn zàn , A I kāi shǐ shè jiāo yì wèi zhe shén má . . .
Exchange trivia, discuss philosophy, like each other, what does it mean for AI to start "socializing"...
MLB》郑宗哲春训首安、首打点出炉! 大展选球眼上垒率...
M L B zhèng zōng zhé chūn xùn shǒu ān , shǒu dǎ diǎn chū lú ! dà zhǎn xuǎn qiú yǎn shàng lěi lǜ . . .
MLB" Zheng Zongzhe's first hit in spring training and the first RBI were released! Show off your on-base percentage...
鍾東錦合體柯文哲 陳品安打出總統牌
鍾 東 錦 gě 體 柯 wén zhé 陳 pǐn ān dǎ chū 總 統 pái
Zhong Dongjin combined Ke Wenzhe and Chen Pin'an to play the presidential card
MLB》鄭宗哲熱身賽首扛先發游擊 全場2支0、敲163...
鄭 zōng zhé 熱 shēn 賽 shǒu gāng xiān 發 yóu 擊 quán 場 zhī qiāo . . .
MLB: Jung-Chul Takes First Start at Shortstop in Spring Training Game, Goes 0-for-2 with a 163-foot Hit...
WBC/去年上大聯盟又下放! 鄭宗哲WBC拚「打出身價」
qù nián shàng dà 聯 méng yòu xià fàng ! 鄭 zōng zhé 拚 dǎ chū shēn 價
WBC/Last Year's Major League Baseball is back in the game! WBC's Jung Chung Chul's WBC Bid for "Bidding"
佛教是宗教还是哲学？
Fójiào shì zōngjiào háishi zhéxué?
Is Buddhism a religion or a philosophy?
第一个吸引我注意的科目是哲学。
Dìyī gè xīyǐn wǒ zhùyì de kēmù shì zhéxué.
The first subject that attracted my attention was philosophy.
他不仅社会学毕业，还有哲学。
Tā bùjǐn shèhuìxué bìyè, hái yǒu zhéxué.
He not only graduated from studying sociology, but also philosophy.
爱因斯坦将自己认作哲学家。
àiyīnsītǎn jiāng zìjǐ rènzuò zhéxuéjiā.
Einstein regarded himself as a philosopher.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 哲 (zhé) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 哲 and 逝?
How many strokes does 哲 have?
What is the radical of 哲?
What are the components of 哲?
What are common words containing 哲?
What characters sound the same as 哲 (zhé)?
Is 哲 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 哲 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.