之

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(possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de5]); him; her; it

Sound it out + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

Ideographic compound (会意字)

A foot meaning "to follow"; cursive version of 止

Components 丶 ? unknown part

of · Heisig RSH #988

a drop of — as a component also called: sign of Zorro

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
国中之国	guó zhōng zhī guó	state within a state
之一	zhī yī	one of (sth); one out of a multitude; one (third, quarter, percent etc)
之中	zhī zhōng	inside; among; in the midst of (doing sth); during
一家之主	yī jiā zhī zhǔ	master of the house; head of the family
一气之下	yī qì zhī xià	in a fit of pique; in a fury
三分之一	sān fēn zhī yī	one third
之上	zhī shàng	above
大方之家	dà fāng zhī jiā	learned person; expert in a certain field; abbr. to 方家[fang1 jia1]
分之	fēn zhī	(indicating a fraction)
法外之地	fǎ wài zhī dì	lawless area
之下	zhī xià	under; beneath; less than
有生之年	yǒu shēng zhī nián	(idiom) during one's lifetime; while one is on this earth; in one's remaining years
一面之交	yī miàn zhī jiāo	to have met once; casual acquaintance
二分之一	èr fēn zhī yī	one half
天作之合	tiān zuò zhī hé	a match made in heaven (idiom)
重中之重	zhòng zhōng zhī zhòng	of the utmost importance; of highest priority
言之无物	yán zhī wú wù	(of a writing etc) to have no substance (idiom); to carry no weight
成人之美	chéng rén zhī měi	(idiom) beauty of helping others succeed; act of helping sb fulfill their wish
不正之风	bù zhèng zhī fēng	unhealthy tendency
言之有物	yán zhī yǒu wù	(of one's words) to have substance

These characters use 之 as their sound component — compare how they read.

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
之 sound part	zhī	marks preceding phrase as modifier of following phrase; it, him her, them; to go to
芝	zhī	sesame; a magical mushroom