芝 meaning and stroke order
Sesame; a magical mushroom
How to write 芝, stroke by stroke
6 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
- 4
- 5
- 6
Meaning of 芝
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- Zoysia pungens
How 芝 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Plant.
艹 gives the meaning and 之 hints at the sound.
Radical: 艹 (grass), shared by 421 characters on this site.
How to remember 芝
The grass radical 艹 on top marks a plant, and 之 (zhī) below gives the sound. Picture a small plant growing above the word 之 to remember 芝 (zhī), a plant word that sounds like 之.
芝 rarely appears alone in modern Chinese. It mostly shows up in fixed words like 芝麻 (zhīma, sesame) and the loanword 芝士 (zhīshì, cheese). Example: 我喜欢芝士蛋糕。 (Wǒ xǐhuan zhīshì dàngāo.) I like cheesecake.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes write 之 without the grass radical when typing 芝麻 or 芝士, because both read zhī. Also, the 麻 in 芝麻 is usually said in the neutral tone, so it sounds like zhīma, not zhīmá.
Common words with 芝
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
芝 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 芝
How many strokes are in 芝?
芝 is written with 6 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 芝 mean?
芝 (zhī) means sesame; a magical mushroom. A common word with it is 芝士 (zhīshì), meaning "(loanword) cheese".
How do you pronounce 芝?
芝 is pronounced zhī, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 芝?
The radical of 芝 is 艹, which carries the idea of "grass". Dictionaries list 芝 under this radical.
Is 芝 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 芝 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Is 芝士 the same as 奶酪?
Yes, both mean cheese. 芝士 (zhīshì) is a sound loan from English and is common in mainland menus and casual speech, especially for pizza and cheesecake. 奶酪 (nǎilào) is the more formal native word.
What does 芝麻 mean in common sayings?
Because sesame seeds are tiny, 芝麻 can mean something trivial. 芝麻小事 (zhīma xiǎoshì) means a trivial matter. The saying 芝麻开门 (zhīma kāimén) is the Chinese version of open sesame.