之 meaning and stroke order
(possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de5]); him; her
How to write 之, stroke by stroke
3 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
Meaning of 之
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de5])
- him
- her
- it
How 之 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. A foot meaning "to follow"; cursive version of 止.
Radical: 丿 (slash), shared by 19 characters on this site.
How to remember 之
之 started as a picture of a foot, meaning "to follow" or "to go to", and its shape is a flowing cursive form of 止 (zhǐ, foot). Picture the dot 丶 as a toe and the zigzag below as a foot stepping forward, linking one thing to the next.
In modern Chinese 之 mostly appears in fixed words and formal writing, where it works like a literary 的 (de) linking a modifier to a noun. It is very common in time and position words like 之前, 之后 and 之间, and in fractions with 分之. Example: 三分之一 (sān fēn zhī yī) one third.
Common mistake: Learners often read fractions in English order, but in Chinese the denominator comes first: 三分之一 is one third, not three ones. Also do not swap 之 for 的 in casual speech; 我之书 sounds like classical Chinese, so say 我的书 (wǒ de shū).
Common words with 之
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 之前 | zhīqián | before; prior to | HSK 4 |
| 之后 | zhīhòu | after; behind; (at the beginning of a sentence) afterwards; since then | HSK 4 |
| 之间 | zhījiān | (after a noun) between; among; amid; (used after certain bisyllabic words to form expressi | HSK 4 |
| 之一 | zhīyī | one of (sth); one out of a multitude | HSK 4 |
| 总之 | zǒngzhī | in a word; in short | HSK 4 |
| 分之 | fēn zhī | (indicating a fraction) | HSK 4 |
| 之中 | zhīzhōng | inside; among | HSK 5 |
| 之外 | zhīwài | outside; excluding | HSK 5 |
| 之内 | zhīnèi | inside; within | HSK 5 |
| 之下 | zhīxià | under; beneath | HSK 5 |
| 之类 | zhīlèi | and so on; and such | HSK 6 |
| 之所以 | zhīsuǒyǐ | (after a noun N and before a predicate P) the reason why N P; Example: 我之所以討厭他|我之所以讨厌他[wo3 | HSK 7-9 |
| 除此之外 | chúcǐzhīwài | apart from this; in addition to this | HSK 7-9 |
| 总而言之 | zǒng'éryánzhī | in short; in a word | HSK 7-9 |
之 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 之
Learning 之 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 之
How many strokes are in 之?
之 is written with 3 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 之 mean?
之 (zhī) means (possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de5]); him; her. A common word with it is 之前 (zhīqián), meaning "before; prior to".
How do you pronounce 之?
之 is pronounced zhī, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 之?
The radical of 之 is 丿, which carries the idea of "slash". Dictionaries list 之 under this radical.
Is 之 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 之 is part of the HSK 4 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 2.
What is the difference between 之后 and 以后?
Both mean after. 之后 usually follows a specific event or noun, as in 下课之后 (after class), and feels a bit more formal. 以后 can also stand alone to mean in the future, as in 以后再说 (let's talk later).
How do I use 之一 correctly?
Put 之一 at the end of a group phrase to mean one of them: 北京是中国最大的城市之一 (Běijīng shì Zhōngguó zuì dà de chéngshì zhī yī), Beijing is one of China's largest cities. Do not add 个 before it.