字

See also: 宇, 亭, and 宁

字	U+5B57, 字 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-5B57

← 孖
[U+5B56]

CJK Unified Ideographs

存 →
[U+5B58]

🈑	U+1F211, 🈑 SQUARED CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-5B57

← 🈐
[U+1F210]

Enclosed Ideographic Supplement

🈒 →
[U+1F212]

TranslingualEdit

Stroke order

Stroke order

Han characterEdit

字 (Kangxi radical 39, 子+3, 6 strokes, cangjie input 十弓木 (JND), four-corner 3040₇, composition ⿱宀子)

Derived charactersEdit

𪜸, 𭇬, 𬇤, 𭸇, 𣑑, 牸, 𡨸, 𫃣, 𦍺, 𮋩, 𫇊, 𡦂, 𧧕, 𫒛, 𪰿, 𮪃
𫿰, 𫡉, 𭓆, 𫳘, 𪧚, 𭓖, 𭓙, 𡶻, 茡, 𣉬, 𡦙, 𥊐

ReferencesEdit

KangXi: page 277, character 18
Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 6942
Dae Jaweon: page 545, character 7
Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 1010, character 2
Unihan data for U+5B57

ChineseEdit

simp. and trad.		字

Glyph originEdit

Historical forms of the character 字
Shang	Western Zhou	Spring and Autumn	Warring States	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Bronze inscriptions	Bronze inscriptions	Bronze inscriptions	Qin slip script	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Characters in the same phonetic series (子) (Zhengzhang, 2003)

	Old Chinese
孜	*ʔslɯ
仔	ʔslɯ, ʔslɯʔ
孖	ʔslɯ, zlɯs
子	*ʔslɯʔ
虸	*ʔslɯʔ
耔	*ʔslɯʔ
秄	*ʔslɯʔ
杍	*ʔslɯʔ
籽	*ʔslɯʔ
字	*zlɯs
茡	*zlɯs
芓	*zlɯs
牸	*zlɯs
李	*rɯʔ

Phono-semantic compound (形聲, OC *zlɯs): semantic 宀 (“roof”) + phonetic 子 (OC *ʔslɯʔ, “child”).

EtymologyEdit

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *tsa ~ za (“child; to give birth; to take care; to be kind”). Related to:

子 (OC *ʔslɯʔ, “child, son”) (also its phonetic component)
慈 (OC *zɯ, “to be kind, loving”)
滋 (OC *ʔsɯ, “to nourish, to grow”)
詞 (OC *ljɯ, “word, term”)
辭 (OC *ljɯ, “word, from testimony”)

Original sense (1): “to become pregnant, to give birth to, to nurture, to love” has essentially become obsolete. The sense (2) “letter, character” is either from a different root or a derivation from the sense “to produce, to generate”.

Cognate with Tibetan ཚ་བོ (tsha bo, “nephew”), Tibetan ཚ་རུས (tsha rus, “descendant”), Tibetan བཙའ (btsa', “to give birth to; to guard”), Tibetan མཛའ (mdza', “kind, peaceful, friendly”) (Quan, 1996), Burmese စာ (ca, “writing, letter”).

PronunciationEdit

Mandarin
(Standard)
(Pinyin): zì (zi⁴)

(Zhuyin): ㄗˋ

(Chengdu, SP): zi⁴

(Dungan, Cyrillic and Wiktionary): зы (zɨ, III)
Cantonese
(Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): zi⁶

(Taishan, Wiktionary): du⁵
Gan (Wiktionary): ci²
Hakka
(Sixian, PFS): sṳ

(Meixian, Guangdong): si⁴
Jin (Wiktionary): zi³
Min Bei (KCR): cī
Min Dong (BUC): cê
Min Nan
(Hokkien, POJ): lī / jī / lǐ / gī / chū / chīr / chī / jū

(Teochew, Peng'im): ri⁷ / re⁶
Wu (Wiktionary): ³zr
Xiang (Wiktionary): zr⁴

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: zì
  - Zhuyin: ㄗˋ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: zìh
  - Wade–Giles: tzŭ⁴
  - Yale: dz̀
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tzyh
  - Palladius: цзы (czy)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sz̩⁵¹/
- (Standard Chinese, erhua-ed)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: zìr
  - Zhuyin: ㄗˋㄦ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: zìhr
  - Wade–Giles: tzŭrh⁴
  - Yale: dzìr
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tzell
  - Palladius: цзыр (czyr)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sz̩ə̯ɻ⁵¹/
- (Chengdu)
  - Sichuanese Pinyin: zi⁴
  - Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: z
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sz̩²¹³/
- (Dungan)
  - Cyrillic and Wiktionary: зы (zɨ, III)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sz̩⁴⁴/
  (Note: Dungan pronunciation is currently experimental and may be inaccurate.)
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: zi⁶
  - Yale: jih
  - Cantonese Pinyin: dzi⁶
  - Guangdong Romanization: ji⁶
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡siː²²/
- (Taishanese, Taicheng)
  - Wiktionary: du⁵
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tu³²/
Gan
- (Nanchang)
  - Wiktionary: ci²
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰz̩²⁴/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: sṳ
  - Hakka Romanization System: sii
  - Hagfa Pinyim: si⁴
  - Sinological IPA: /sɨ⁵⁵/
- (Meixian)
  - Guangdong: si⁴
  - Sinological IPA: /sz̩⁵³/
Jin
- (Taiyuan)⁺
  - Wiktionary: zi³
  - Sinological IPA (old-style): /t͡sz̩⁴⁵/
Min Bei
- (Jian'ou)
  - Kienning Colloquial Romanized: cī
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡si⁵⁵/
Min Dong
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: cê
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sɛi²⁴²/
Min Nan
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Jinjiang, Hui'an, Taipei, Hsinchu, Kinmen)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lī
  - Tâi-lô: lī
  - Phofsit Daibuun: li
  - IPA (Taipei): /li³³/
  - IPA (Hui'an): /li²¹/
  - IPA (Quanzhou, Jinjiang): /li⁴¹/
  - IPA (Xiamen, Kinmen): /li²²/
- (Hokkien: Zhangzhou, Zhangpu, Kaohsiung, Tainan, Taichung, Hsinchu, Sanxia, Yilan, Magong, Penang)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: jī
  - Tâi-lô: jī
  - Phofsit Daibuun: ji
  - IPA (Penang): /d͡ʑi²¹/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /ʑi³³/
  - IPA (Zhangpu, Tainan, Yilan): /d͡ʑi³³/
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /d͡ʑi²²/
- (Hokkien: Lukang)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lǐ
  - Tâi-lô: lǐ
  - IPA (Lukang): /li³³/
- (Hokkien: Taichung)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: gī
  - Tâi-lô: gī
  - Phofsit Daibuun: gi
- (Hokkien: Xiamen)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chū
  - Tâi-lô: tsū
  - Phofsit Daibuun: zu
  - IPA (Xiamen): /t͡su²²/
- (Hokkien: Quanzhou, Hui'an)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chīr
  - Tâi-lô: tsīr
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /t͡sɯ⁴¹/
  - IPA (Hui'an): /t͡sɯ²¹/
- (Hokkien: Jinjiang)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chī
  - Tâi-lô: tsī
  - Phofsit Daibuun: ci
  - IPA (Jinjiang): /t͡ɕi⁴¹/
- (Hokkien: Zhangzhou)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: jū
  - Tâi-lô: jū
  - Phofsit Daibuun: ju
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /d͡zu²²/

Note:

lī/jī/lǐ/gī - vernacular;
chū/chīr/chī/jū - literary.

(Teochew)
- Peng'im: ri⁷ / re⁶
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: jī / jṳ̆
- Sinological IPA ^(key): /d͡zi¹¹/, /d͡zɯ³⁵/

Note: re6 - Chinese-style name, “to be allow to marry”.

Wu
- (Shanghainese)
  - Wiktionary: ³zr
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /z̥z̩²³/
Xiang
- (Changsha)
  - Wiktionary: zr⁴
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sz̩⁴⁵/

Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 字
Mandarin	Beijing	/t͡sz̩⁵¹/
	Harbin	/t͡sz̩⁵³/
	Tianjin	/ye⁵³/
	Jinan	/t͡sz̩²¹/
	Qingdao	/t͡sz̩⁴²/
	Zhengzhou	/t͡sz̩³¹²/
	Xi'an	/t͡sz̩⁴⁴/
	Xining	/t͡sz̩²¹³/
	Yinchuan	/t͡sz̩¹³/
	Lanzhou	/t͡sz̩¹³/
	Ürümqi	/t͡sz̩²¹³/
	Wuhan	/t͡sz̩³⁵/
	Chengdu	/t͡sz̩¹³/
	Guiyang	/t͡sz̩²¹³/
	Kunming	/t͡sz̩²¹²/
	Nanjing	/t͡sz̩⁴⁴/
	Hefei	/t͡sz̩⁵³/
Jin	Taiyuan	/t͡sz̩⁴⁵/
	Pingyao	/t͡sz̩³⁵/
	Hohhot	/t͡sz̩⁵⁵/
Wu	Shanghai	/zz̩²³/
	Suzhou	/zz̩³¹/
	Hangzhou	/zz̩¹³/
	Wenzhou	/zz̩²²/
Hui	Shexian	/t͡sʰz̩²²/
Hui	Tunxi	/t͡sʰz̩¹¹/
Xiang	Changsha	/t͡sz̩⁵⁵/ /t͡sz̩¹¹/
Xiang	Xiangtan	/d͡zz̩²¹/
Gan	Nanchang	/t͡sʰz̩²¹/
Hakka	Meixian	/sz̩⁵³/
Hakka	Taoyuan	/sï⁵⁵/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/t͡si²²/
	Nanning	/t͡sz̩²²/
	Hong Kong	/t͡si²²/
Min	Xiamen (Min Nan)	/t͡su²²/ /li²²/
	Fuzhou (Min Dong)	/t͡sɛi²⁴²/
	Jian'ou (Min Bei)	/t͡si⁴⁴/
	Shantou (Min Nan)	/zi³¹/
	Haikou (Min Nan)	/t͡si³³/ /tu²³/ 訓書

Middle Chinese: /d͡zɨ^H/

Rime
Character	字
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	從 (15)
Final (韻)	之 (19)
Tone (調)	Departing (H)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	疾置切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/d͡zɨ^H/
Pan Wuyun	/d͡zɨ^H/
Shao Rongfen	/d͡zie^H/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/d͡zɨ^H/
Li Rong	/d͡ziə^H/
Wang Li	/d͡zĭə^H/
Bernard Karlgren	/d͡zʱi^H/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	zì
Expected Cantonese Reflex	zi⁶

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*mə-dzə(ʔ)-s/

(Zhengzhang): /*zlɯs/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	字
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	zì
Middle Chinese	‹ dzi^H ›
Old Chinese	/*mə-dzə(ʔ)-s/
English	breed, love (v.); character
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. [t] as coda may in fact be -t or -p; Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	字
Reading #	1/1
No.	17864
Phonetic component	子
Rime group	之
Rime subdivision	0
Corresponding MC rime	字
Old Chinese	/*zlɯs/
Notes	子分化字

DefinitionsEdit

字

letter; symbol; character, especially a Chinese character (Classifier: 個／个 m c; 隻／只 c)
這個字怎麼唸？／这个字怎么念？ ― Zhège zì zěnme niàn? ― How do you read this character?

字母 ― zìmǔ ― letter

字串 ― zìchuàn ― character string
word; term; wording; diction
這字拼錯了。／这字拼错了。 ― Zhè zì pīn cuò le. ― This word is wrongly spelt; you've left out a letter.
(computing) word
handwriting; writing
他的字很差。 ― Tā de zì hěn chà. ― His handwriting is very bad.
(historical) courtesy name; Chinese-style name (a name traditionally given to Chinese males at the age of 20 and females at the age of 15)
(historical) to style; to give someone a courtesy name
(calligraphy) style of handwriting; printing type
(calligraphy) (a calligrapher's) calligraphy work
written letter; message; correspondence
receipt; contract; slip
pronunciation of a character; pronunciation
(colloquial) side of a coin with written characters; tails
Antonym: 鏝／镘 (màn)
(Cantonese, Min, Malaysia, Singapore) five minutes (derived from the locations of 1 to 12 on a clock face) (Classifier: 個／个 m c)
三個字／三个字 [Cantonese] ― saam¹ go³ zi⁶ [Jyutping] ― fifteen minutes [i.e. when the minute hand points to 3]

七點兩字／七点两字 [Hokkien] ― chhit tiám nn̄g jī [Pe̍h-ōe-jī] ― ten past seven

一個字／一个字 [Teochew] ― zêg⁸ gai⁵ ri⁷ [Peng'im] ― five minutes [i.e. when the minute hand points to 1]

而家係一點十一個字。 [Guangzhou Cantonese, trad.]
而家系一点十一个字。 [Guangzhou Cantonese, simp.]
ji⁴ gaa¹ hai⁶ jat¹ dim² sap⁶ jat¹ go³ zi⁶. [Jyutping]
It's five to two now. (Literally: It's one o'clock [and] eleven five-minutes.)

爭三個字到六點 [Guangzhou Cantonese, trad.]
争三个字到六点 [Guangzhou Cantonese, simp.]
zaang¹ saam¹ go³ zi⁶ dou³ luk⁶ dim² [Jyutping]
a quarter to six (Literally: Missing three five-minutes to six o'clock)
^† to give birth to; to deliver a baby; to bring into the world
^† to be pregnant; to be carrying a baby
^† (historical, of a girl) to be betrothed; to be allowed to marry
待字閨中／待字闺中 ― dàizìguīzhōng ― to stay in the boudoir waiting to be betrothed
^† to bring up; to raise; to rear (a child)
- 其僚無子，使字敬叔。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
  其僚无子，使字敬叔。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
  From: Commentary of Zuo, c. 4^th century BCE
  Qí liáo wú zǐ, shǐ zì Jìngshū. [Pinyin]
  Her companion had no child, but she was employed to bring up Jingshu.
(obsolete or Guzhang Waxiang) to love; to cherish; to care very much for
- 子弗祗服厥父事，大傷厥考心；于父不能字厥子，乃疾厥子。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
  子弗祗服厥父事，大伤厥考心；于父不能字厥子，乃疾厥子。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
  From: The Book of Documents, circa 4^th – 3^rd century BCE
  Zǐ fú zhī fú jué fù shì, dà shāng jué kǎo xīn; yú fù bùnéng zì jué zǐ, nǎi jí jué zǐ. [Pinyin]
  The son who does not reverently discharge his duty to his father, but greatly wounds his father's heart, and the father who can (no longer) love his son, but hates him.
- 楚雖大，非吾族也，其肯字我乎？ [Classical Chinese, trad.]
  楚虽大，非吾族也，其肯字我乎？ [Classical Chinese, simp.]
  From: Commentary of Zuo, c. 4^th century BCE
  Chǔ suī dà, fēi wú zú yě, qí kěn zì wǒ hū? [Pinyin]
  Although Chu is great, they are not akin to us; how will they be willing to love us?
(Luxi Waxiang) to envy; to be jealous of; to admire
^† to educate; to teach; to instruct
^† to govern; to administer
a surname

SynonymsEdit

Dialectal synonyms of 字 (“written character”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		字
Mandarin	Beijing	字兒
	Taiwan	字
	Yantai (Muping)	字
	Wanrong	字
	Xi'an	字
	Lanzhou	字兒
	Singapore	字
Cantonese	Guangzhou	字
	Hong Kong	字
	Singapore (Guangfu)	字
Gan	Lichuan	字
Hakka	Meixian	字
Min Bei	Jian'ou	字
Min Dong	Fuzhou	字
Min Nan	Xiamen	字
	Singapore (Hokkien)	字
	Chaozhou	字
	Singapore (Teochew)	字
	Leizhou	字
	Haikou	字
Wu	Shanghai	字
	Ningbo	字
	Wenzhou	字

Dialectal synonyms of 字 (“side of a coin with written characters”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Mandarin	Beijing	字兒
	Jinan	字兒
	Xi'an	字兒
	Lanzhou	字兒
	Xining	字兒
	Ürümqi	字兒
	Wuhan	麻
	Xuzhou	字兒
Cantonese	Hong Kong	字
Gan	Nanchang	字
	Lichuan	碼兒, 字兒
	Pingxiang	麻子, 字仔
Jin	Taiyuan	字兒
	Xinzhou	字兒
	Shenmu	字兒
Min Dong	Fuzhou	字
Wu	Ningbo	字
Wu	Wenzhou	字
Xiang	Changsha	麻子

Dialectal synonyms of 喜歡 (“to like”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		好, 喜好, 愛好, 字
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		喜歡, 喜愛, 喜好, 愛好
Mandarin	Beijing	喜歡, 好希, 稀罕, 愛
	Taiwan	喜歡, 愛
	Jinan	喜歡
	Xi'an	喜歡, 愛
	Wuhan	喜歡, 愛
	Chengdu	喜歡, 歡喜, 愛
	Chongqing	喜歡, 歡喜
	Guilin	喜歡
	Yangzhou	歡喜
	Hefei	喜歡
	Malaysia	喜歡
	Singapore	喜歡
Cantonese	Guangzhou	中意, 歡喜
	Hong Kong	中意, 好
	Hong Kong (Kam Tin Weitou)	中意
	Macau	中意
	Guangzhou (Panyu)	中意
	Guangzhou (Huashan, Huadu)	中意
	Guangzhou (Conghua)	中意
	Guangzhou (Zengcheng)	中意
	Foshan	中意
	Foshan (Shatou, Nanhai)	中意
	Foshan (Shunde)	中意
	Foshan (Sanshui)	中意
	Foshan (Mingcheng, Gaoming)	中意
	Zhongshan (Shiqi)	歡喜, 中意
	Zhuhai (Qianshan)	中意
	Zhuhai (Doumen, Shangheng Tanka)	中意
	Zhuhai (Doumen)	中意
	Jiangmen (Baisha)	中意
	Jiangmen (Xinhui)	中意
	Taishan	中意
	Kaiping (Chikan)	爽心, 中意
	Enping (Niujiang)	中意
	Heshan (Yayao)	中意
	Dongguan	中意
	Shenzhen (Shajing, Bao'an)	中意
	Yangjiang	中意, 歡喜
	Beihai	中意
	Beihai (Qiaogang - Cô Tô)	中意
	Beihai (Qiaogang - Cát Bà)	中意, 喜歡
	Fangchenggang (Fangcheng)	中意
	Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	中意, 蘇格
	Singapore (Guangfu)	中意
	Ho Chi Minh City (Guangfu)	中意
	Móng Cái	中意
Gan	Nanchang	歡喜
Hakka	Meixian	中意, 好
	Huizhou (Huicheng Bendihua)	中意
	Dongguan (Qingxi)	中意
	Shenzhen (Shatoujiao)	中意
	Zhongshan (Nanlang Heshui)	中意
	Conghua (Lütian)	歡喜
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	中意, 好
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	中意, 好
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	中意, 好
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	中意, 合意, 好
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	中意, 好
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	佮意, 愛
	Senai (Huiyang)	中意
	Kuching (Hepo)	蘇格
Jin	Taiyuan	喜歡, 待見
Min Bei	Jian'ou	愛, 喜歡
Min Dong	Fuzhou	歡喜, 中意, 愛
Min Nan	Xiamen	歡喜, 意愛, 愛, 佮意, 舒合
	Xiamen (Tong'an)	佮意
	Quanzhou	歡喜, 意愛, 愛, 佮意
	Shishi	佮意
	Zhangzhou	歡喜, 愛, 佮意
	Tainan	佮意, 意愛, 愛
	Penang (Hokkien)	舒合, 愛
	Singapore (Hokkien)	舒合, 愛
	Manila (Hokkien)	愛, 佮意
	Chaozhou	歡喜, 愛, 喜歡
	Shantou	歡喜
	Shantou (Chaoyang)	好, 尚, 喜歡
	Jieyang	歡喜, 愛, 好, 尚, 喜歡
	Johor Bahru (Teochew)	喜歡
	Singapore (Teochew)	舒合
	Wenchang	歡喜
Zhongshan Min	Shaxi (Longdu)	中意
Waxiang	Guzhang (Gaofeng)	字
Wu	Shanghai	歡喜
	Suzhou	歡喜
	Ningbo	歡喜, 看相, 中意 dated
	Wenzhou	喜歡
Xiang	Changsha	喜歡
Xiang	Shuangfeng	喜歡

CompoundsEdit

Derived terms from 字

DescendantsEdit

Sino-Xenic (字):

→ Japanese: 字(じ) (ji)
→ Korean: 자(字) (ja)
→ Vietnamese: tự (字)

Others:

→ Proto-Tai: *ɟɤ:ᴮ (“name”)
- Lao: ຊື່ (sư̄, “name”)
- Thai: ชื่อ (chʉ̂ʉ, “name”)
- Zhuang: coh (“name”)
→ Vietnamese: chữ (“script; letter; writing; word”), chửa (“to be pregnant”)

ReferencesEdit

“字”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎^[1], 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–

JapaneseEdit

KanjiEdit

字

(grade 1 “Kyōiku” kanji)

ReadingsEdit

Go-on: じ (ji, Jōyō)
Kan-on: し (shi)
Kun: あざ (aza, 字, Jōyō); あざな (azana, 字); うむ (umu); ます (masu)

Etymology 1Edit

Kanji in this term
字
じ Grade: 1
on’yomi

Borrowed from Middle Chinese 字 with the southern pronunciation (kango, go-on).

PronunciationEdit

On’yomi: Goon

(Tokyo) じ [jíꜜ] (Atamadaka – [1])^[1]^[2]
IPA^(key): [(d͡)ʑi]

NounEdit

字(じ) • (ji)

letter, character
この字(じ)は何(なん)と読(よ)みますか？
Kono ji wa nan to yomimasu ka?
How do you pronounce this character?
handwriting, penmanship
彼(かの)女(じょ)は字(じ)が上手(うま)い（汚(きたな)い）。
Kanojo wa ji ga umai (kitanai).
She has good (bad) handwriting.

Derived termsEdit

Derived terms

永(えい)字(じ) (eiji)
十(じゅう)字(じ) (jūji, “cross”)
字(じ)解(かい) (jikai)
字(じ)義(ぎ) (jigi, “the meaning of a word”)
字(じ)源(げん) (jigen, “the construction of a character”)
字(じ)体(たい) (jitai, “font or lettering”)
字(じ)典(てん) (jiten, “character dictionary”)
字(じ)母(ぼ) (jibo, “letter (of the alphabet)”)
漢(かん)字(じ) (kanji, “Chinese characters”)
漢(かん)字(じ)返(がえ)し (kanjigaeshi, “kanji repeater”)
文(も)字(じ) (moji, “letter, character, or ideograph”)
字(じ)引(びき) (jibiki, “dictionary”)
数(すう)字(じ) (sūji, “numeral or number”)
字(じ)訳(やく) (jiyaku)
二(に)字(じ) (niji, “two characters”)
大(だい)字(じ) (daiji, “a large character”)

CounterEdit

字(じ) • (-ji)

letters, characters
４０(よんじゅう)字(じ)以(い)内(ない)で書(か)いてください。
Yonjū-ji inai de kaite kudasai.
Please write it down in 40 characters or fewer.

Etymology 2Edit

Kanji in this term
字
あざ Grade: 1
kun’yomi

Shortened form of あざな (azana, “a section of a village”) of ancient Japanese origin (wago).

PronunciationEdit

Kun’yomi

(Tokyo) あざ [áꜜzà] (Atamadaka – [1])^[1]^[2]
IPA^(key): [a̠za̠]

NounEdit

字(あざ) • (aza)

a section of a village

Derived termsEdit

大(おお)字(あざ) (ōaza)
小(こ)字(あざ) (koaza)

Etymology 3Edit

Kanji in this term
字
あざな Grade: 1
kun’yomi

Of ancient Japanese origin (wago).

PronunciationEdit

Kun’yomi

(Tokyo) あざな [àzáná] (Heiban – [0])^[1]^[2]
IPA^(key): [a̠za̠na̠]

NounEdit

字(あざな) • (azana)

courtesy name
たく郡(ぐん)（河北(かほく)省(しょう)）の人(ひと)。字(あざな)は玄徳(げんとく)。[2]
Taku-gun (Kahoku-shō) no hito. Azana wa Gentoku.
Of Zhuo Commandery. Courtesy name Xuande.
nickname
a section of a village

ReferencesEdit

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN

KoreanEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Middle Chinese 字 (MC d͡zɨ^H).

Historical readings
Recorded as Middle Korean ᄍᆞᆼ〮 (Yale: ccó) in Dongguk Jeongun (東國正韻 / 동국정운), 1448. Recorded as Middle Korean ᄌᆞ (co) (Yale: co) in Hunmong Jahoe (訓蒙字會 / 훈몽자회), 1527.