自
(bound form) self; oneself; from; since; naturally; as a matter of course
6 strokes
Dict coverage rank #24 U+81EA
How 自 is formed
Pictograph (象形字)
A nose; in China, people refer to themselves by pointing to their noses
How to remember it
oneself · Heisig RSH #33
a drop of + 目 eye — as a component also called: oneself, nose, nostrils
Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.
Characters built with 自 as their sound component
These characters all use 自 (zì) as their phonetic component — compare how they read:
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 自 sound component | zì | self; private, personal; from |
| 咱 | zán | we, us |
| 瘪 | biě | shriveled, dried up; vexed |
| 憩 | qì | to rest |
| 洎 | jì | when, until; to soak; soup |
Words containing 自
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 自大 | zì dà | arrogant |
| 自家人 | zì jiā rén | sb with whom one is on familiar terms; sb from the same place (same house, same town etc);… |
| 自学 | zì xué | self-study; to study on one's own |
| 自小 | zì xiǎo | since childhood; from a young age |
| 自高自大 | zì gāo zì dà | to think of oneself as terrific (idiom); arrogant |
| 自家 | zì jiā | oneself; one's own family |
| 自白 | zì bái | confession; to make clear one's position or intentions; to brag |
| 自动 | zì dòng | automatic; voluntarily |
| 自有 | zì yǒu | (I, they etc) of course have (a plan, a way etc); one's own (apartment, brand etc) |
| 手自一体 | shǒu zì yī tǐ | manumatic |
| 自行 | zì xíng | voluntary; autonomous; by oneself; self- |
| 自动化 | zì dòng huà | to automate |
| 山地自行车 | shān dì zì xíng chē | mountain bike |
| 自动自发 | zì dòng zì fā | (to act) on one's own initiative |
| 自高 | zì gāo | to be proud of oneself |
| 自成一家 | zì chéng yī jiā | to have a style of one's own |
| 发自 | fā zì | to evolve from |
| 自发 | zì fā | spontaneous |
| 三自 | Sān zì | abbr. for 三自愛國教會|三自爱国教会[San1 zi4 Ai4 guo2 Jiao4 hui4], Three-Self Patriotic Movement |
| 出自 | chū zì | to come from |