仔细 meaning in English
careful; attentive; cautious; to be careful; to look out
Meaning of 仔细
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- careful; attentive; cautious
- to be careful; to look out
- (dialect) thrifty; frugal
How to use 仔细
仔细 describes doing something carefully and attentively, and it often comes before a verb as 仔细看 or 仔细想. It can also be doubled as 仔仔细细 for emphasis. Example: 请仔细检查一下。(Qǐng zǐxì jiǎnchá yíxià.) Please check it carefully.
仔 (zǐ) has the person radical 亻 next to 子, like a person watching a child closely. 细 (xì) means thin or fine, so 仔细 is looking at every fine detail with that same close attention.
Common mistake: Learners often read 仔 as zǎi because of 牛仔裤 (niúzǎikù), but in 仔细 it is zǐ with a third tone. Also do not confuse 细 (xì) with 级 (jí), which shares the silk radical 纟.
仔细 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
仔 zǐ · small thing · 5 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
细 xì · thin or slender · 8 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
Related words
Words that share a character with 仔细.
| 细节 | xìjié | details; particulars |
| 细致 | xìzhì | delicate; fine |
| 详细 | xiángxì | detailed; in detail |
| 牛仔裤 | niúzǎikù | jeans |
| 细胞 | xìbāo | cell (biology) |
| 细菌 | xìjūn | bacterium; germ |
| 精细 | jīngxì | fine; meticulous |
| 细心 | xìxīn | meticulous; careful; attentive |
| 细微 | xìwēi | tiny; minute |
| 细腻 | xìnì | (of skin etc) smooth; satiny; delicate; (of a performance, depiction, craftsmanship etc) f |
| 精打细算 | jīngdǎ-xìsuàn | meticulous planning and careful accounting (idiom) |
| 牛仔 | niúzǎi | cowboy |
Questions about 仔细
What does 仔细 mean?
仔细 (zǐxì) means "careful; attentive; cautious; to be careful; to look out" and is used as a adjective.
How do you write 仔细?
仔细 is made of 2 characters: 仔 (5 strokes), 细 (8 strokes). That is 13 strokes in total.
Is 仔细 an HSK word?
Yes. 仔细 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 仔细 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 仔细 is written 仔細.
What is the difference between 仔细 and 小心?
仔细 means paying close attention to details, as in 仔细读 (read carefully). 小心 (xiǎoxīn) means being careful to avoid danger or mistakes, as in 小心车 (watch out for cars).
Can 仔细 be used to describe a person?
Yes. 他做事很仔细 (Tā zuòshì hěn zǐxì) means he is careful and thorough in his work. In some dialects 仔细 can also mean thrifty with money, but this is less common in standard Mandarin.