指 (zhǐ): finger, point
指 (zhǐ) is a Chinese character meaning “finger, point.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 扌 (structural) and 旨 (structural). It ranks #261 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 指 to point 旨 by hand 扌; 旨 also provides the pronunciation. 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
- finger, point
Etymology & Origin
ideographicTo point 旨 by hand 扌; 旨 also provides the pronunciation
Decomposition: ⿰扌旨 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 指 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 指
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 戒指noun | jiè zhi | (finger) ring | 6 |
| 手指noun | shǒu zhǐ | finger | 5 |
| 指挥verb/noun | zhǐ huī | to conduct | 6 |
| 指导verb | zhǐ dǎo | to guide | 5 |
| 指示verb/noun | zhǐ shì | to point out | 6 |
| 指责verb | zhǐ zé | to criticize | 6 |
| 指出verb | zhǐ chū | to indicate | 4 |
| 指定verb | zhǐ dìng | to appoint | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 指纹 | zhǐ wén | fingerprint |
| 指控 | zhǐ kòng | accusation |
| 指望 | zhǐ wàng | to count on |
| 指甲 | zhǐ jia | fingernail |
| 指令 | zhǐ lìng | order |
| 指引 | zhǐ yǐn | to guide |
| 指向 | zhǐ xiàng | to point towards |
| 拇指 | mǔ zhǐ | thumb |
| 指南 | zhǐ nán | to guide |
| 指派 | zhǐ pài | to assign |
| 指使 | zhǐ shǐ | to incite |
| 指数 | zhǐ shù | (numerical, statistical) index |
| 大拇指 | dà mu zhǐ | thumb |
| 指头 | zhǐ tou | finger |
| 指点 | zhǐ diǎn | to point out |
指 appears in 100 compound words: 55 as the first character, 42 as the last, and 3 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 指 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (17)
lit. dip one's finger in the tripod (idiom); fig. to get one's finger in the pie; to get a share of the action
to control or handle someone or something effectively and easily; to be in perfect command of
first; number one; come first on the list; be matchless; be second to none; come out first; thumbs up
lit. to point at the chicken while scolding the dog (idiom); fig. to make indirect criticisms
to be a false witness; to deliberately misinterpret and invert right and wrong
to control or handle someone or something effectively and easily; to be in perfect command of
lit. dip one's finger in the tripod (idiom); fig. to get one's finger in the pie; to get a share of the action
Showing 12 of 17 idioms containing 指.
Example Sentences
请按照这个指南操作，不要跳过任何步骤。
Qǐng ànzhào zhè gè zhǐnán cāozuò, búyào tiàoguò rènhé bùzhòu.
Please follow this guide for operation; don't skip any steps.
杭州一步行街被指写错北宋诗人名字,“晁冲之”写成“..
háng zhōu yī bù háng jiē bèi zhǐ xiě cuò běi sòng shī rén míng zì , 晁 chōng zhī xiě chéng . .
A pedestrian street in Hangzhou was accused of writing the name of a Northern Song poet wrongly, "Chao Chongzhi" was written as "Chao Chongzhi", "Chao Chongzhi" was written as "Chao Chongzhi", "Chao Chongzhi" was written as "Chao Chongzhi"...
深夜,黄金、白银、原油齐涨,美股三大指数集体上涨丨..
shēn yè , huáng jīn bái yín yuán yóu qí zhǎng , měi gǔ sān dà zhǐ shǔ jí tī shǎng zhǎng 丨 . .
Late at night, gold, silver, crude oil rose, the three major U.S. stock indexes rose collectively 丨....
忻州市房地产市场多项指标居全省首位
忻 zhōu shì fáng dì chǎn shì chǎng duō xiàng zhǐ biāo jū quán shěng shǒu wèi
Xinzhou real estate market tops the province in a number of indicators
欧洲斯托克600指数触及新纪录高位
ōu zhōu sī tuō kè zhǐ shǔ chù jí xīn jì lù gāo wèi
Europe's Stoxx 600 touches new record highs
米兰冬奥会DAY12观赛指南:刘少昂林孝埈携手冲金
mǐ lán dōng ào huì guàn sài zhǐ nán liú shǎo áng lín xiào 埈 xié shǒu chōng jīn
Milan Winter Olympics Day 12 Viewing Guide: Liu Shaoyang and Lim Hyo-joong Team Up for Gold
警察找到指纹了吗？
Jǐngchá zhǎodào zhǐwén le ma?
Did the police find any fingerprints?
我们之间完了，把戒指还给我！
Wǒmen zhījiān wánle, bǎ jièzhi huángěi wǒ!
It's over between us. Give me back my ring!
好痛！被门夹到手指了！
Hǎo tòng! Bèi mén jiā dào shǒuzhǐ le!
Ouch! My finger got caught in the door.
你的指纹怎么会在这个玻璃杯上?
Nǐ de zhǐwén zěnme huì zài zhège bōlibēi shàng?
How come your fingerprints are on this glass?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 指 (zhǐ) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 指 have?
What is the radical of 指?
What are the components of 指?
What are common words containing 指?
What characters sound the same as 指 (zhǐ)?
Is 指 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 指 with real-time feedback
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