侄 meaning and stroke order
Nephew
How to write 侄, stroke by stroke
8 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 侄
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- brother's son; nephew
- variant of 姪|侄[zhi2]
How 侄 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Person.
亻 gives the meaning and 至 hints at the sound.
Radical: 亻 (man), shared by 277 characters on this site.
How to remember 侄
侄 is pictophonetic: the person radical 亻 tells you it is about a person, and 至 (zhì) gives the sound. Picture a young person who has arrived (至) at your family gathering: your brother's son.
侄 rarely stands alone. It appears in family words like 侄子 (zhízi, nephew), 侄女 (zhínǚ, niece) and 侄儿 (zhí'ér, nephew). Example: 我侄子今年十岁。 (Wǒ zhízi jīnnián shí suì.) My nephew is ten this year.
Common mistake: Learners often use 侄子 for any nephew, but traditionally it means a brother's son. A sister's son is 外甥 (wàisheng). Also watch the tone: 侄 is second tone zhí, while its sound part 至 is fourth tone zhì.
Common words with 侄
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
侄 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 侄
How many strokes are in 侄?
侄 is written with 8 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 侄 mean?
侄 (zhí) means nephew. A common word with it is 侄子 (zhízi), meaning "brother's son; nephew".
How do you pronounce 侄?
侄 is pronounced zhí, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 侄?
The radical of 侄 is 亻, which carries the idea of "man". Dictionaries list 侄 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 侄?
The traditional form of 侄 is 妷 and 姪. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 侄 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
What is the difference between 侄子 and 外甥?
侄子 (zhízi) is your brother's son, from the father's side of the family line. 外甥 (wàisheng) is your sister's son. Many speakers keep this distinction, so choose the word based on whose child it is.
Why do I sometimes see 姪 instead of 侄?
姪 is a variant form of the same word, with the woman radical 女 instead of the person radical 亻. It is common in traditional Chinese texts, while 侄 is the standard form in simplified Chinese.