Meaning of 自
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- (bound form) self; oneself
- from; since
- naturally; as a matter of course
How to use 自
自 rarely stands alone in speech. It mostly appears in words like 自己 (zìjǐ, oneself), 自由 (zìyóu, freedom) and 自行车 (zìxíngchē, bicycle). As a preposition meaning "from" it sounds formal or written, and 来自 is the common everyday form: 我来自上海。(Wǒ láizì Shànghǎi.) I come from Shanghai.
Many Chinese speakers point to their own nose when they say "me," and 自 (zì) can be pictured as a nose with lines inside it. Think of it as "the face pointing at itself" to remember the meaning "self."
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 自 with 白 (bái, white) and 目 (mù, eye). 自 has a short stroke on top like 白, but three horizontal lines inside like 目. Also, do not use 自 alone for "myself" in speech. Say 自己 (zìjǐ).
自 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.
自 zì · self · 6 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
Related words
Words that share a character with 自.
| 自己 | zìjǐ | oneself; (attributive) one's own |
| 自由 | zìyóu | freedom; liberty; free; unrestricted |
| 来自 | láizì | to come from (a place); From: (in email header) |
| 自行车 | zìxíngchē | bicycle; bike |
| 大自然 | dàzìrán | nature (the natural world) |
| 自然 | zìrán | nature; natural |
| 自从 | zìcóng | since (a time); ever since |
| 亲自 | qīnzì | personally; in person |
| 自动 | zìdòng | automatic; voluntarily |
| 各自 | gèzì | each; respective |
| 自身 | zìshēn | itself; oneself |
| 自觉 | zìjué | to realize; to be aware of; to feel that; to be conscious of (sth relating to oneself); re |
Questions about 自
What does 自 mean?
自 (zì) means "(bound form) self; oneself; from; since" and is used as a preposition.
How do you write 自?
自 is made of 1 character: 自 (6 strokes). That is 6 strokes in total.
Is 自 an HSK word?
Yes. 自 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 自 and 从 when meaning "from"?
Both can mean "from" or "since," but 从 (cóng) is the normal spoken choice, as in 从北京来 (cóng Běijīng lái). 自 sounds formal and appears in writing, signs, or set phrases like 自古以来 (zìgǔ yǐlái, since ancient times).
Why does 自行车 mean bicycle?
It literally means "self-moving vehicle": 自 (self), 行 (to move or travel), and 车 (vehicle). The name comes from the idea that you power it yourself.