懂中文 Dong Chinese

字

zì

letter

Original meaning: 

raise up children

Phonosemantic compound. 宀 represents the meaning and 子 represents the sound. The 宀 (roof) component is based on the original meaning "raise up children". The meaning later shifted to "educate", "word", and "writing".

Components
宀 meaning component

宀  Meaning component

mián

  

roof

子 sound,meaning component

子  Sound Meaning component

zi, zǐ

  

child

Evolution

字 Bronze script Late Shang dynasty (~1100 BC)

Bronze script

Late Shang dynasty (~1100 BC)
字 Seal script Shuowen (~100 AD)

Seal script

Shuowen (~100 AD)
字 Clerical script Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Clerical script

Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
字 Regular script Modern

Regular script

Modern
Definitions

字  

zì

letter, character, word; letter; symbol; character; word; CL:個|个[gè]; courtesy or style name traditionally given to males aged 20 in dynastic China

Most common words with 字
Freq.
Word
Meaning

名字

name (of a person or thing)

字

letter

数字

numeral

文字

character

签字

signature

Component uses

Sound component in 1 character (0 verified)

牸