质 (zhì): character, nature, quality
质 (zhì) is a Chinese character meaning “character.” Classified as HSK Level 4 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 厂 (structural), 十 (phonetic) and 贝 (semantic). It ranks #404 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 质 shell. Its radical form 贝 (shell) appears in many related characters such as 贵 (guì, expensive), 负 (fù, to bear), 责 (zé, responsibility).
Definitions
- character
- nature
- quality
Etymology & Origin
pictophoneticshell
Decomposition: ⿸厂⿱十贝 (layout: surround-from-upper-left)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 质 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 质
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 物质noun | wù zhì | matter | 5 |
| 质疑verb | zhì yí | to call into question | 6 |
| 质量noun | zhì liàng | (physics) mass | 4 |
| 本质noun | běn zhì | essence | 5 |
| 气质noun | qì zhì | personality traits | 6 |
| 品质noun | pǐn zhì | character | 5 |
| 蛋白质noun | dàn bái zhì | protein | 6 |
| 性质noun | xìng zhì | nature | 5 |
| 实质noun | shí zhì | substance | 6 |
| 素质noun | sù zhì | inner quality | 6 |
| 变质verb | biàn zhì | to degenerate | 6 |
| 优质adjective | yōu zhì | excellent quality | 5 |
| 地质noun | dì zhì | geology | 6 |
| 材质noun | cái zhì | texture of timber | 6 |
| 保质期noun | bǎo zhì qī | shelf life | 5 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 人质noun | rén zhì | hostage |
| 特质noun | tè zhì | characteristic |
| 神经质 | shén jīng zhì | nervous |
| 潜质noun | qián zhì | potential |
| 质问verb | zhì wèn | to question |
| 劣质adjective | liè zhì | shoddy |
| 对质verb | duì zhì | to confront (in court etc) |
| 质询verb | zhì xún | to question |
| 皮质noun | pí zhì | cortex |
| 电解质noun | diàn jiě zhì | electrolyte |
| 资质noun | zī zhì | aptitude |
| 矿物质noun | kuàng wù zhì | mineral, esp. dietary mineral |
| 实质性 | shí zhì xìng | substantive |
| 体质noun | tǐ zhì | (a person's) constitution |
| 质地noun | zhì dì | texture |
质 appears in 100 compound words: 26 as the first character, 67 as the last, and 7 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 质 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (2)
Showing 1 of 2 idioms containing 质.
Example Sentences
质字虽然难写，但意思很有趣。
zhì zì suī rán nán xiě , dàn yì sī hěn yǒu qù .
The character "质" may be difficult to write, but its meaning is quite interesting.
男生小便完甩一下会不会影响生育?与精子质量无关对吗
nán shēng xiǎo biàn wán shuǎi yī xià huì bù huì yǐng xiǎng shēng yù ? yǔ jīng zǐ zhì liàng wú guān duì ma
Will a boy pee after urinating affect fertility? It has nothing to do with sperm quality, right?
...竟买到“空心泡芙” 一票会员认证:分店品质不一
. . . jìng mǎi dào kōng xīn pāo 芙 yī piào huì yuán rèn zhèng : fēn diàn pǐn zhì bù yī
... I actually bought a "hollow puff" with a ticket of membership certification: the quality of the branch is different
摩通:保荐人新规无碍优质企上市
mó tōng : bǎo jiàn rén xīn guī wú ài yōu zhì qǐ shàng shì
Morgan Stanley: The new sponsor regulations do not hinder the listing of high-quality enterprises
高标准高质量推进雄安新区建设现代化城市丨雄安新区新...
gāo biāo zhǔn gāo zhì liàng tuī jìn xióng ān xīn qū jiàn shè xiàn dài huà chéng shì 丨 xióng ān xīn qū xīn . . .
Promote the construction of Xiong'an New Area into a modern city with high standards and high quality丨Xiong'an New Area New...
回应法国质疑 欧委会称受邀参加“和平委员会”会议是...
huí yīng fǎ guó zhì yí ōu wěi huì chèn shòu yāo cān jiā hé píng wěi yuán huì huì yì shì . . .
In response to French doubts, the European Commission said that the invitation to the meeting of the "Peace Commission" was...
我奶奶患有骨质疏松症。
Wǒ nǎinai huànyǒu gǔzhìshūsōngzhèng.
My grandmother suffers from osteoporosis.
木质家具沉甸甸的。
Mùzhì jiājù chéndiàndiàn de.
Wooden furniture is heavy.
众人皆知月球之本质为芝士。
Zhòngrén jiē zhī yuèqiú zhī běnzhì wèi zhīshì.
Everybody knows the moon is made of cheese.
这款木质皮夹由一整块胡桃木制成。
Zhè kuǎn mùzhì píjiā yóu yī zhěng kuài hútáo mùzhì chéng.
This wood wallet is crafted from a single piece of walnut.
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 贝 (shell) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 质 (zhì) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 质 and 计?
How many strokes does 质 have?
What is the radical of 质?
What are the components of 质?
What are common words containing 质?
What characters sound the same as 质 (zhì)?
Is 质 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 质 with real-time feedback
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