紫 meaning and stroke order
Purple; violet
How to write 紫, stroke by stroke
12 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
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- 3
- 4
- 5
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- 11
- 12
Meaning of 紫
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- purple
- violet
How 紫 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Silk.
糸 gives the meaning and 此 hints at the sound.
Radical: 糸 (silk), shared by 27 characters on this site.
How to remember 紫
紫 (zǐ) is 此 (cǐ) on top of 糸 (silk). Picture this (此) silk (糸) dyed purple, and let 此 remind you of the sound, cǐ to zǐ.
On its own 紫 usually appears in compounds. The everyday word for the color is 紫色 (zǐsè), and it shows up in science words like 紫外线 (zǐwàixiàn, ultraviolet rays). Example: 她穿了一件紫色的裙子。(Tā chuān le yí jiàn zǐsè de qúnzi.) She wore a purple skirt.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 紫 (zǐ) with 此 (cǐ) because they share the top part. 紫 has 糸 underneath and a z sound, while 此 alone means this and starts with c. Also keep 紫 (zǐ, third tone) apart from 子 (zǐ), which has the same sound but a different meaning.
Common words with 紫
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
紫 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 紫
How many strokes are in 紫?
紫 is written with 12 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 紫 mean?
紫 (zǐ) means purple; violet. A common word with it is 紫色 (zǐsè), meaning "purple; violet (color)".
How do you pronounce 紫?
紫 is pronounced zǐ, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 紫?
The radical of 紫 is 糸, which carries the idea of "silk". Dictionaries list 紫 under this radical.
Is 紫 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 紫 is part of the HSK 5 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do you say light purple or dark purple in Chinese?
Add 浅 (qiǎn) for light or 深 (shēn) for dark: 浅紫色 (qiǎn zǐsè) is light purple and 深紫色 (shēn zǐsè) is dark purple.
Does 紫外线 really mean ultraviolet?
Yes. 紫外线 (zǐwàixiàn) literally means rays outside purple, which matches the idea of ultraviolet. You will hear it in sunscreen ads and weather reports.