子 (zǐ): son, child, seed
子 (zǐ) is a Chinese character meaning “son.” Classified as HSK Level 1 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 了 (structural) and 一 (structural). It ranks #37 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically pictographic, 子 a child in a wrap, with outstretched arms but bundled legs. Its radical form 子 (child) appears in many related characters such as 字 (zì, letter), 学 (xué, to learn), 孩 (hái, (bound form) child).
Definitions
- son
- child
- seed
Etymology & Origin
pictographicA child in a wrap, with outstretched arms but bundled legs
Decomposition: ⿻了一 (layout: overlay)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 子 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 子
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 孩子noun | hái zi | child | 1 |
| 儿子noun | ér zi | son | 1 |
| 房子noun | fáng zi | house | 3 |
| 妻子noun | qī zǐ | wife and children | 2 |
| 样子noun | yàng zi | appearance | 4 |
| 日子noun | rì zi | day | 4 |
| 脑子noun | nǎo zi | brains | 6 |
| 裤子noun | kù zi | variant of 褲子|裤子, trousers | 2 |
| 小伙子noun | xiǎo huǒ zi | young man | 4 |
| 桌子noun | zhuō zi | table | 1 |
| 屋子noun | wū zi | house | 3 |
| 帽子noun | mào zi | hat | 4 |
| 箱子noun | xiāng zi | suitcase | 3 |
| 骗子noun | piàn zi | swindler | 6 |
| 盒子noun | hé zi | box | 4 |
| 鼻子noun | bí zi | nose | 4 |
| 一辈子noun | yī bèi zi | (for) a lifetime | 6 |
| 脖子noun | bó zi | neck | 6 |
| 椅子noun | yǐ zi | chair | 1 |
| 裙子noun | qún zi | skirt | 3 |
| 王子noun | wáng zǐ | prince | 6 |
| 肚子noun | dù zi | belly | 4 |
| 猴子noun | hóu zi | monkey | 5 |
| 袋子noun | dài zi | bag | 4 |
| 兔子noun | tù zi | hare | 5 |
| 胡子noun | hú zi | beard | 6 |
| 镜子noun | jìng zi | mirror | 4 |
| 虫子noun | chóng zi | insect | 5 |
| 女子noun | nǚ zǐ | woman | 5 |
| 男子noun | nán zǐ | a man | 5 |
| 孙子noun | sūn zi | grandson | 4 |
| 盘子noun | pán zi | tray | 3 |
| 袜子noun | wà zi | socks | 4 |
| 瓶子noun | píng zi | bottle | 3 |
| 侄子noun | zhí zi | brother's son | 6 |
| 鸭子noun | yā zi | duck | 5 |
| 狮子noun | shī zi | lion | 6 |
| 金子noun | jīn zi | gold | 6 |
| 牌子noun | pái zi | sign | 4 |
| 例子noun | lì zi | case | 4 |
| 院子noun | yuàn zi | courtyard | 4 |
| 影子noun | yǐng zi | shadow | 6 |
| 电子书noun | diàn zǐ shū | electronic book | 3 |
| 柜子noun | guì zi | cupboard | 5 |
| 面子noun | miàn zi | outer surface | 6 |
| 沙子noun | shā zi | sand | 5 |
| 嗓子noun | sǎng zi | throat | 6 |
| 个子noun | gè zi | stature | 2 |
| 种子noun | zhǒng zi | seed | 5 |
| 轮子noun | lún zi | wheel | 6 |
| 父子noun | fù zǐ | father and son | 4 |
| 橘子noun | jú zi | tangerine | 5 |
| 袖子noun | xiù zi | sleeve | 6 |
| 勺子noun | sháo zi | spoon | 3 |
| 叉子noun | chā zi | fork | 5 |
| 被子noun | bèi zi | blanket | 5 |
| 叶子noun | yè zi | leaf () | 4 |
| 句子noun | jù zi | sentence | 3 |
| 子女noun | zǐ nǚ | children | 5 |
| 本子noun | běn zi | book | 2 |
| 棋子noun | qí zǐ | chess piece | 6 |
| 稿子noun | gǎo zi | draft of a document | 6 |
| 筷子noun | kuài zi | chopsticks | 3 |
| 橙子noun | chéng zi | orange | 5 |
| 竹子noun | zhú zi | bamboo | 5 |
| 母子noun | mǔ zǐ | mother and child | 4 |
| 饺子noun | jiǎo zi | dumpling | 1 |
| 包子noun | bāo zi | baozi | 1 |
| 扇子noun | shàn zi | fan | 5 |
| 尺子noun | chǐ zi | ruler (measuring instrument) | 5 |
| 粽子noun | zòng zi | glutinous rice and choice of filling wrapped in leaves and steamed or boiled | 6 |
| 电子版noun | diàn zǐ bǎn | electronic edition | 5 |
子 appears in 100 compound words: 1 as the first character, 97 as the last, and 2 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 子 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (81)
to cuckold another person; to be cuckolded; to have one's wife or girlfriend cheat on one
Showing 12 of 81 idioms containing 子.
Example Sentences
桌子上放着一杯刚泡好的绿茶，散发着淡淡的清香。
Zhuōzi shàng fàngzhe yī bēi gāng pào hǎo de lǜchá, sànfāzhe dàndàn de qīngxiāng.
On the table sits a cup of freshly brewed green tea, emitting a faint delicate fragrance.
上海乐高乐园度假区首个春节表现亮眼,成亲子家庭出行..
shàng hǎi lè gāo lè yuán dù jiǎ qū shǒu gè chūn jié biǎo xiàn liàng yǎn , chéng qīn zǐ jiā tíng chū háng . .
Shanghai Legoland Resort's first Spring Festival performance is eye-catching, and parents and children travel as a family:
自由式滑雪男子U型场地技巧预赛结束 4名中国选手均..
zì yóu shì huá xuě nán zǐ U xíng chǎng dì jì qiǎo yù sài jié shù 4 míng zhōng guó xuǎn shǒu jūn . .
Freestyle skiing men's halfpipe skills preliminaries ended with 4 Chinese athletes:
英国男子打砸香港机场 包中还搜出疑似管制药品
yīng guó nán zǐ dǎ zá xiāng gǎng jī chǎng bāo zhōng hái sōu chū yí shì guǎn zhì yào pǐn
British man vandalizes Hong Kong airport, suspected controlled substances found in his bag.
浙江男子铁锅里泡澡,底下还烧着火,一个接一个!杭...
zhè jiāng nán zǐ tiě guō lǐ pāo zǎo , de xià hái shāo zhe huǒ , yī gě jiē yī gě ! háng . . .
A man in Zhejiang took a bath in an iron pot with a fire burning underneath—one after another! Hangzhou...
子弟兵给您送祝福啦,快来签收!
zǐ dì bīng gěi nín sòng zhù fú lā , kuài lái qiān shōu !
Our troops are sending you blessings—come sign for them!
她儿子成为了什么？
Tā érzi chéngwéi le shénme?
What has become of her son?
谁是这间房子的主人？
Shéi shì zhè jiān fángzi de zhǔrén?
Who is the owner of this house?
你为什么指责我儿子？
Nǐ wèishénme zhǐzé wǒ érzi?
Why do you accuse my son?
这房子里面有多少只猫？
Zhè fángzi lǐ miàn yǒu duōshao zhī māo?
How many cats are there in this house?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 子 (zǐ) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 子 have?
What is the radical of 子?
What are the components of 子?
What are common words containing 子?
What characters sound the same as 子 (zǐ)?
Is 子 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 子 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.