置 (zhì): to install, to place, to put

置 (zhì) is a Chinese character meaning “to install.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 罒 (semantic) and 直 (phonetic). It ranks #677 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Etymologically derived, 置 net. Its radical form 罒 (net) appears in many related characters such as 网 (wǎng, net), 罚 (fá, to punish), 罢 (bà, to stop).

Spoken pronunciation

Definitions

  1. to install
  2. to place
  3. to put

Etymology & Origin

置

pictophoneticnet

Decomposition: ⿱罒直 (layout: top-bottom)

Stroke Order

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13

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

Words & Compounds

HSK Vocabulary with 置

WordPinyinMeaningHSK
位置nounwèi zhiposition5
布置verbbù zhìto arrange6
设置verbshè zhìto set up5

Common Compounds

WordPinyinMeaning
难以置信phrasenán yǐ zhì xìn(idiom) hard to believe
装置nounzhuāng zhìto install
处置verbchǔ zhìto handle
安置verbān zhìto find a place for
置于zhì yúto place in
置身verbzhì shēnto place oneself
放置verbfàng zhìto put
置之不理phrasezhì zhī bù lǐto pay no heed to (idiom)
置身事外phrasezhì shēn shì wài(idiom) not to get involved
搁置verbgē zhìto put
置信verbzhì xìnto believe (what sb claims) (usually used in the negative)
配置verbpèi zhìto deploy
置换verbzhì huànto permute
闲置verbxián zhìto leave unused
空置verbkōng zhìto set sth aside
100
Total compounds
33
As first character
45
As last character
22
As middle character

置 appears in 100 compound words: 33 as the first character, 45 as the last, and 22 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 置 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.

幔màn
0.55510 co-occurrences
位wèi
0.541294,649 co-occurrences
配pèi
0.51778,138 co-occurrences
搁gē
0.5043,554 co-occurrences
设shè
0.48378,207 co-occurrences
装zhuāng
0.47830,773 co-occurrences
析xī
0.4187,708 co-occurrences
放fàng
0.41727,064 co-occurrences
台tái
0.40542,518 co-occurrences
闲xián
0.4001,733 co-occurrences

Idioms & Chengyu (19)

本末倒置běnmòdàozhìHSK 5+

putting the cart before the horse

phrase
不容置辩bùróngzhìbiànHSK 7+

indisputable; incontestable; peremptory

phrase
不容置疑bùróngzhìyíHSK 5+

to allow or admit no doubt; to not open to doubt; to be beyond doubt; to be absolutely certain

phrase
不予置评bùyǔzhìpíngHSK 6+

no comment; to refuse to comment

phrase
不置可否bùzhìkěfǒuHSK 5+

to not express an opinion; to decline to comment; to be noncommittal

phrase
措置裕如cuòzhìyùrúHSK 6+

to handle one's affairs with ease

phrase
地理位置dìlǐ wèizhìHSK 5+

geographical location

noun
漠然置之mòránzhìzhīHSK 5+

to show indifference to; to turn a blind eye

phrase
难以置信nányǐzhìxìnHSK 5+

unbelievable; incredible

phrase
未置可否wèi zhì kě fǒuHSK 5+

to refuse to comment; same as 不置可否

phrase
无可置疑wúkězhìyíHSK 5+

indubitable; unquestionable

phrase
一笑置之yīxiàozhìzhīHSK 5+

to laugh off; to dismiss with laughter; to make light of

phrase

Showing 12 of 19 idioms containing 置.

Example Sentences

AI-Generated

请把行李放置在指定区域,不要挡住通道。

Qǐng bǎ xíngli fàngzhì zài zhǐdìng qūyù, bùyào dǎng zhù tōngdào.

Please place your luggage in the designated area and don't block the passage.

Yahoo FinanceFeb 2026

...00066.HK)屯門南延綫項目游泳池重置工程完成 釋出土地全面進行第16區站建造...

. . . . tún 門 nán yán 綫 項 mù yóu yǒng chí chóng zhì gōng chéng wán chéng 釋 chū tǔ dì quán miàn 進 háng dì 區 zhàn jiàn zào . . .

The swimming pool relocation works for the Tuen Mun South Extension Line project (00066.HK) have been completed, freeing up land for the full-scale construction of the 16th District Station...

Yahoo FinanceFeb 2026

晨星:維持華潤置地和龍湖公允價值預測 偏好華潤置地

chén xīng 維 chí 華 潤 zhì dì hé 龍 hú gōng yǔn 價 zhí 預 測 piān hǎo 華 潤 zhì dì

Morningstar: Maintains fair value forecasts for China Resources Land and Longfor; favors China Resources Land

Investing 香港Feb 2026

...民生證券:“以舊換新”政策延續 2026置換+出口需求主導商用車

. . . mín shēng 證 quàn yǐ 舊 換 xīn zhèng cè yán 續 zhì 換 chū kǒu xū qiú zhǔ 導 shāng yòng 車

Minsheng Securities: "Trade-in" Policy Continues; 2026 Replacement + Export Demand to Dominate Commercial Vehicle Market

UdnnewsindexFeb 2026

健康名人堂/放下光環 馬年給自己更新的位置

jiàn kāng míng rén táng fàng xià guāng 環 馬 nián 給 zì jǐ gēng xīn de wèi zhì

Health Hall of Fame: Shed the Spotlight—Finding Your New Place in the Year of the Horse

Yahoo FinanceFeb 2026

港置周末10大屋苑錄得約2宗成交按周下跌約5...

gǎng zhì zhōu mò dà wū 苑 錄 dé 約 zōng chéng jiāo àn zhōu xià diē 約 . . .

HKSARG's top 10 estates recorded 2 transactions over the weekend, a week-on-week drop of about 5...

Tatoeba

汤姆傻得难以置信。

Tāngmǔ shǎ de nányǐzhìxìn.

Tom is unbelievably stupid.

Tatoeba

毋庸置疑,汤姆毒害了玛丽。

Wúyōngzhìyí, Tāngmǔ dúhài le Mǎlì.

There's no doubt Tom poisoned Mary.

Tatoeba

她怎么告诉意蒂尔我的位置?

Tā zěnme gàosu yì dì ěr wǒ de wèizhi?

Why did she tell Yidir where I was?

Tatoeba

可怜的人民任凭残暴的独裁者处置。

Kělián de rénmín rènpíng cánbào de dúcáizhě chǔzhì.

The poor people were at the mercy of the cruel dictator.

Character Family

Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 罒 (net) component

罒 Radical Family — Characters sharing the net radical

Homophones — Characters pronounced zhì

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 置 (zhì) mean in Chinese?
置 (zhì) primarily means "to install." It is classified as HSK Level 5, making it an advanced character. It ranks #677 in character frequency.
How many strokes does 置 have?
置 is written with 13 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 置?
The radical associated with 置 is 罒 (net). This radical appears in many characters related to net.
What are the components of 置?
置 is composed of: 罒 (semantic), 直 (phonetic). Its IDS decomposition is ⿱罒直 with a top-bottom layout. Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.
What are common words containing 置?
Common words with 置 include: 位置 (wèi zhi, "position"); 难以置信 (nán yǐ zhì xìn, "(idiom) hard to believe"); 装置 (zhuāng zhì, "to install"); 布置 (bù zhì, "to arrange"); 设置 (shè zhì, "to set up"). There are over 100 compound words containing this character.
What characters sound the same as 置 (zhì)?
Several characters share the pronunciation zhì: 值 (value, be worth), 只 (classifier for birds and certain animals, one of a pair, some utensils, vessels etc), 知 (to know), 直 (Zhi (c. 2000 BC), fifth of the legendary Flame Emperors 炎帝 descended from Shennong 神農|神农 Farmer God), and 4 more. Context and tones help distinguish between them in speech and writing.
Is 置 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Yes, 置 is written the same way in both simplified and traditional Chinese.

Practice writing 置 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.