子

zǐ

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-

a picture of 子 → a swaddled infant with arms reaching out

The ancient form showed a baby wrapped from the waist down, arms spread wide. From this concrete image of a child, the meaning extended outward to seeds, small things, and offspring of all kinds.

了+一→子

她把菜子种在院子里。

tā bǎ cài zǐ zhòng zài yuàn zi lǐ。

she planted vegetable seeds in the courtyard.

子时是深夜十一点到凌晨一点。

zǐ shí shì shēn yè shí yī diǎn dào líng chén yī diǎn。

the zi hour is from eleven at night to one in the morning.

Words with 子

子嗣

zǐ sì

son

瘸子

qué zi

lame person (colloquial)

钉子

dīng zi

nail

梁子湖

liáng zi hú

see 梁子湖區|梁子湖区[Liang2 zi5 hu2 Qu1]

照镜子

zhào jìng zi

to look in the mirror

绿帽子

lǜ mào zi

green hat (figuratively, a symbol of being a cuckold)

白马王子

bái mǎ wáng zǐ

a Prince Charming; the man of one's dreams

步子

bù zi

step

汉子

hàn zi

man

父子

fù zǐ

father and son

耗子

hào zi

(dialect) mouse; rat

节子

jiē zi

gnarl

More characters with 了

承函亨亟疗辽钌