子 (zǐ) - Child, son & seed, egg

子Tone 3

zǐ ｜ 3 strokes ｜ radical: 子

志

子 · zǐ

Child, son;

seed, egg;

offspring;

a person;

ancient title of respect for teachers/philosophers;

first earthly branch;

midnight (11pm-1am);

small thing;

suffix forming nouns.

Child, sonseed, eggoffspring

Usage highlights

ChildSonDaughterSeedStudentTeacher

Synonyms

  • 儿— son, child
  • 孩— child
  • 嗣— heir, successor

Antonyms

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • The child (孩子) is playing in the park.
  • Confucius (孔子) was a great philosopher.
  • This is my son (儿子).
  • The seed (种子) will grow into a plant.

Collocations

  • Child(孩子)
  • Son(儿子)
  • Daughter(女儿)
  • Seed(种子)
  • Student(学子)
  • Teacher(夫子)

Idioms

  • The wise love water, the benevolent love mountains(知者乐水，仁者乐山)
  • A true man(君子)
  • Like father, like son(有其父必有其子)
  • The son surpasses the father(青出于蓝而胜于蓝)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • One of the most fundamental characters in Chinese culture, representing progeny and continuity of family.
  • Used as an honorific suffix for ancient philosophers like Confucius (孔子) and Mencius (孟子).
  • The first of the twelve Earthly Branches in traditional calendrical systems, representing midnight and the north direction.

FAQ