兹 zī now
now; here; this
How it came to be
Two twists of silk side by side, the silk block without its ground line. Doubling says more of it: growing, increasing. The meanings this, here and now came from pointing at what grew.
用法
- Formal/documentary 'hereby, herewith, this' - opens official notices: 兹证明 (zī zhèngmíng) this is to certify, 兹定于 (zī dìng yú) it is hereby scheduled for.
- Marks bureaucratic/legal register; the everyday equivalent is 现在 or 这.
- Also literary 'now' in 念兹在兹 (to have constantly in mind).