Language/Mandarin-chinese/Vocabulary/自-zì-self;-from

自 zì self; from in Mandarin Chinese

Definition

This character, which is itself a radical, is a picture of a person’s nose. According to Chinese medical tradition, the nose is considered the starting point in the development of the embryo in the mother’s womb, hence the meaning “oneself.” Even today, many Chinese point with their index finger at their noses to indicate themselves, rather than tapping their chests as do most Westerners.

Examples

Distinguish 自 from 日 rì, 白 bái, 百 băi, 首 shŏu, 真 zhēn, 具 jù, and simplified 县 xiàn.

Sources

Book: Intermediate Written Chinese by Cornelius C. Kubler

Other Lessons

• 排 pái row, line
• 赶(趕) găn rush, hurry, make a dash for
• 树(樹) shù tree
• Kitchen
• 懂 dŏng understand
• Beverages
• Constellations
• 切 qiē cut, slice
• 破 pò break, tear, split
• 义(義) yì righteousness