纵 (zòng): vertical, north-south (Taiwan pr.), from front to back, longitudinal, lengthwise (Taiwan pr.), military unit corresponding to an army corps (Taiwan pr.)
纵 (zòng) is a Chinese character meaning “vertical.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 纟 (semantic) and 从 (phonetic). It ranks #1230 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 纵 thread. Its radical form 纟 (silk) appears in many related characters such as 系 (xì, to connect), 累 (lèi, tired), 绍 (shào, to continue).
Definitions
- vertical
- north-south (Taiwan pr.)
- from front to back
- longitudinal
- lengthwise (Taiwan pr.)
- military unit corresponding to an army corps (Taiwan pr.)
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 纵 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 操纵verb | cāo zòng | to operate |
| 纵火verb | zòng huǒ | to set on fire |
| 放纵verb | fàng zòng | to indulge |
| 纵火犯noun | zòng huǒ fàn | arsonist |
| 纵容verb | zòng róng | to tolerate or condone wrongdoing |
| 纵队noun | zòng duì | column |
| 纵情verb | zòng qíng | to your heart's content |
| 欲擒故纵phrase | yù qín gù zòng | In order to capture, one must let loose. |
| 操纵杆noun | cāo zòng gǎn | joystick |
| 纵横adjective | zòng héng | lit. warp and weft in weaving |
| 纵观verb | zòng guān | to survey comprehensively |
| 纵身verb | zòng shēn | to leap |
| 纵向adjective | zòng xiàng | longitudinal |
| 稍纵即逝adjective | shāo zòng jí shì | transient |
| 纵使conjunction | zòng shǐ | even if |
纵 appears in 60 compound words: 77 as the first character, 12 as the last, and 12 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 纵 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (8)
Example Sentences
纵字在日常生活中使用频率较低。
zòng zì zài rì cháng shēng huó zhōng shǐ yòng pín lǜ jiào dī .
The character "纵" is used less frequently in everyday life.
名家纵论/怀念标哥转动台湾向前行
míng jiā zòng lùn huái niàn biāo gē zhuǎn dòng tái wān xiàng qián háng
Famous writers commentary/nostalgia for Brother Biao to turn Taiwan forward
长假纵情 性病上身 医师:18-25岁多
cháng jiǎ zòng qíng xìng bìng shàng shēn yī shī : 1 8 2 5 suì duō
Long vacation indulgence venereal disease upper body Doctor: 18-25 years old
...律部队宿舍天台梯间起火 50人疏散 警列纵火调查
. . . lǜ bù duì sù shě tiān tái tī jiān qǐ huǒ 5 0 rén shū sàn jǐng liè zòng huǒ diào chá
... A fire broke out in the roof stairwell of the dormitory of the law force, 50 people were evacuated, and the police arson investigation
花莲鲤鱼潭9岁男童溺毙 纵管处:与地方政府共同强化管理
huā lián lǐ yú tán 9 suì nán tóng nì bì zòng guǎn chǔ : yǔ dì fāng zhèng fǔ gòng tóng qiáng huà guǎn lǐ
Hualien Liyutan 9-year-old boy drowned Longitudinal Management Office: Strengthen management with local governments
纵管处启动鲤鱼潭水域安全全面检讨 将与地方...
zòng guǎn chǔ qǐ dòng lǐ yú tán shuǐ yù ān quán quán miàn jiǎn tǎo jiāng yǔ dì fāng . . .
The longitudinal management office launched a comprehensive review of the safety of Liyutan waters and will work with local...
昨晚的火灾被断定为由纵火引起的。
Zuówǎn de huǒzāi bèi duàndìng wèi yóu zònghuǒ yǐnqǐ de.
The fire that broke out last night was judged to be caused by arson.
纵使没有人陪我，我也要去看这部电影。
Zòngshǐ méiyǒu rén péi wǒ, wǒ yě yào qù kàn zhè bù diànyǐng.
Even if no one goes with me, I still want to see this movie.
幕后操纵者是谁？
Mùhòucāozòng zhě shì shéi?
Who's behind it?
罗纳尔多的队友传给他一个高球，他纵身一跳，头球进门。
Luónà'ěrduō de duìyǒu chuángěi tā yī gè gāoqiú, tā zòngshēn yī tiào, tóu qiú jìnmén.
Ronaldo’s teammate passed the ball high to him. He jumped up and headed it into the goal.
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 纟 (thread) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 纵 (zòng) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 纵 and 后?
How many strokes does 纵 have?
What is the radical of 纵?
What are the components of 纵?
What are common words containing 纵?
What characters sound the same as 纵 (zòng)?
Is 纵 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 纵 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.