自 zì self
self; from; own
How it came to be
A nose seen from the front: the bridge down the middle, and the lines of the nostrils beneath it. People point at their nose to say me, so the nose came to mean self.
How it is used
- "Self; from" - 自己 (zìjǐ) oneself, 来自 (láizì) come from, 自然 (zìrán) natural. Rarely stands alone as a word.
- In 自信 (zìxìn) self-confidence and 自学 (zìxué) self-study, the 自 = "self/own". It stacks with 己: 自己 is the everyday reflexive "myself/yourself".
Characters built with 自
Words with 自
- 自己zìjǐoneselfHSK 2
- 来自láizìcome from (a place)HSK 3
- 自行车zìxíngchēbikeHSK 3
- 自然zìránnatureHSK 4
- 自信zìxìnself-confidenceHSK 4
- 大自然dàzìránnature (the natural world)HSK 4
- 自习zìxíto study outside of class timeHSK 4
- 自学zìxuéself-studyHSK 4
- 亲自qīnzìpersonallyHSK 5
- 出自chūzìto come fromHSK 5
- 各自gèzìeachHSK 5
- 独自dúzìaloneHSK 5
- 自从zìcóngsince (a time)HSK 5
- 自动zìdòngautomaticHSK 5
- 自由zìyóufreedomHSK 5
- 自觉zìjuéto realizeHSK 5
- 自身zìshēnitselfHSK 5
- 自助zìzhùself-serviceHSK 6
- 自律zìlǜself-disciplineHSK 6
- 自愿zìyuànvoluntaryHSK 6
- 自我zìwǒself-HSK 6
- 自杀zìshāto kill oneselfHSK 6
- 自来水zìláishuǐrunning waterHSK 6
- 自言自语zìyán-zìyǔto talk to oneselfHSK 6
- 自豪zìháoproud (of one's achievements etc)HSK 6
- 不由自主bùyóuzìzhǔcan't help butHSK 7
- 情不自禁qíngbúzìjīncannot refrain fromHSK 7
- 自主zìzhǔto act independentlyHSK 7
- 自以为是zìyǐwéishìto believe oneself infallible (idiom)HSK 7
- 自力更生zìlì-gēngshēngregeneration through one's own effortHSK 7
- 自卫zìwèito defend oneselfHSK 7
- 自发zìfāspontaneousHSK 7
- 自在zìzaicomfortableHSK 7
- 自如zìrúunobstructedHSK 7
- 自始至终zìshǐ-zhìzhōngfrom start to finish (idiom)HSK 7
- 自尊zìzūnself-respectHSK 7
- 自满zìmǎncomplacentHSK 7
- 自然界zìránjiènatureHSK 7
- 自然而然zìrán’érráninvoluntaryHSK 7
- 自理zìlǐto take care of oneselfHSK 7
Example sentences
- 他做了自我介绍。 Tā zuòle zìwǒ jièshào.He introduced himself.
- 大家自动来帮忙。 Dàjiā zìdòng lái bāngmáng.Everybody voluntarily came to help.
- 儿子会自己洗衣服。 Érzi huì zìjǐ xǐ yīfu.My son can do the laundry by himself.
- 我们来自东方。 Wǒmen lái zì dōngfāng.We're from the East.