之 zhī of
of; literary equivalent to 的; pronoun
How it came to be
A footprint on a line, the toes pointing away from it. The line is where you stand and the foot is leaving. It meant to set off long before it linked two nouns.
How it is used
- Literary/formal equivalent of 的, kept in fixed frames: 之前 (zhīqián) before, 之后 (zhīhòu) after, 之间 (zhījiān) between, 之一 (zhī yī) one of.
- 总之 (zǒngzhī) 'in short'; 之所以…是因为 'the reason why…is that.'
- Also a classical object pronoun. Written/formal register - you would not drop plain 之 into casual speech.
Characters built with 之
Words with 之
- 之中zhīzhōnginsideHSK 4
- 之前zhīqiánbeforeHSK 4
- 之后zhīhòuafterHSK 4
- 之间zhījiānbetweenHSK 4
- 总之zǒngzhīin a wordHSK 5
- 之所以zhīsuǒyǐthe reason why N PHSK 6
- 一技之长yíjìzhīchángproficiency in a particular field (idiom)HSK 7
- 不了了之bùliǎo-liǎozhīto settle a matter by leaving it unsettledHSK 7
- 不正之风búzhèngzhīfēngunhealthy tendencyHSK 7
- 之际zhījìduringHSK 7
- 加之jiāzhīmoreoverHSK 7
- 反之fǎnzhīon the other hand...HSK 7
- 可乘之机kěchéngzhījīan opportunity that someoneHSK 7
- 当务之急dāngwùzhījítop priority jobHSK 7
- 总而言之zǒng’éryánzhīin shortHSK 7
- 来之不易láizhī-búyìhard to come byHSK 7
- 重中之重zhòngzhōngzhīzhòngof the utmost importanceHSK 7
- 井底之蛙jǐngdǐzhīwāliterally a frog at the bottom of a wellHSK 8
- 取而代之qǔ’érdàizhīto replaceHSK 8
- 后顾之忧hòugùzhīyōufears of trouble in the rear (idiom)HSK 8
- 天伦之乐tiānlúnzhīlèfamily love and joyHSK 8
- 当之无愧dāngzhīwúkuìfully deserving, without any reservationsHSK 8
- 持之以恒chízhī-yǐhéngto pursue unremittingly (idiom)HSK 8
- 敬而远之jìng’éryuǎnzhīto show respect from a distance (idiom)HSK 8
- 无价之宝wújiàzhībǎopriceless treasureHSK 8
Example sentences
- 长城是七大奇迹之一。 Chángchéng shì qī dà qíjì zhī yī.The Great Wall is one of the seven wonders of the world.
- 老人人口占总人口的百分之三十。 Lǎorén rénkǒu zhàn zǒng rénkǒu de bǎifēnzhī sān shí.Elderly people account for 30% of the total population.
- 她工作之余顺便在巴黎游玩。 Tā gōngzuò zhī yú shùnbiàn zài Bālí yóuwán.She travels to Paris when she gets time off from work.
- 他们之间建立了深厚的友谊。 Tāmen zhījiān jiànlìle shēnhòu de yǒuyì.They have developed a deep friendship.