子

2 readings · tap one to hear it

son; child; seed; egg; small thing; 1st earthly branch: 11 p.m.–1 a.m., midnight, 11th solar month (7th December to 5th January), year of the rat; viscount, fourth of five orders of nobility 五等爵位[wu3 deng3 jue2 wei4]; ancient Chinese compass point: 0° (north); subsidiary; subordinate; (prefix) sub-

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HSK 3.0: Level 1
Old HSK: Level 1
Strokes: 3
Radical: 子 itself
Structure: Overlaid 叠加
Traditional: 子
Common rank: #2
Unicode: U+5B50

Sound it out + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

How 子 is formed

Pictograph (象形字)

A child in a wrap, with outstretched arms but bundled legs

Components 了一

How to remember it

child · Heisig RSH #97

— as a component also called: child

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

Words with 子

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

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
儿子	ér zi	son
本子	běn zi	book; notebook; Japanese-style self-published comic (esp. an erotic one), aka "dōjinshi"; …
包子	bāo zi	baozi; bao (steamed stuffed bun)
房子	fáng zi	house; building (single- or two-story); apartment; room; CL:棟\|栋[dong4],幢[zhuang4],座[zuo4],…
杯子	bēi zi	cup; glass; CL:個\|个[ge4],隻\|只[zhi1]
桌子	zhuō zi	table; desk; CL:張\|张[zhang1],套[tao4]
孩子	hái zi	child
人子	rén zǐ	son of man
山子	shān zi	rock garden; rockery
头子	tóu zi	boss; gang leader
中子	zhōng zǐ	neutron
学子	xué zǐ	(literary) student; scholar
生子	shēng zǐ	to give birth to a child or children
子儿	zǐ r	(coll.) penny; buck
天子	tiān zǐ	the (rightful) emperor; "Son of Heaven" (traditional English translation)
一家子	yī jiā zi	the whole family
马子	mǎ zi	bandit; brigand; gambling chip; chamber pot; (slang) girl; chick; babe
小子	xiǎo zǐ	(literary) youngster; (old) young fellow (term of address used by the older generation); (…
小子	xiǎo zi	(coll.) boy; (derog.) joker; guy; (despicable) fellow
性子	xìng zi	temper

Sound family

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

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
子 sound part	zǐ	son, child; seed, egg; fruit; small thing
李	lǐ	plum; luggage; surname
孜	zī	diligent, hard-working
耔	zǐ	to hoe the soil around one's plants

Examples & usage

Real sentences with 子 — read them aloud, then paste your own into the converter.

桌子上有一本书。

Zhuōzi shang yì běn shū.

There is a book on the table.
孩子们在公园玩。

Háizimen zài gōngyuán wán.

The children are playing in the park.

Usage tip: 子作后缀时读轻声，如桌子 (zhuōzi)、孩子 (háizi)；单独作「儿子、孩子」讲时读第三声 zǐ。