子
contributes the sense of a child · Kangxi radical 39
contributes the sense of a child, offspring, or something small and seed-like
子 is a picture of a baby: a large round head on top, two arms flung out to the sides, and the legs wrapped together in swaddling so they show as a single vertical stroke. In the modern form the top 了 keeps the head and bundled body, and the long horizontal stroke is the outstretched arms. You can still see the baby held or carried in 孕 (a child inside a body), 好 (a woman with a child), and 字 (a child under a roof, from naming a newborn).
子 at a glance
- Meaning
- contributes the sense of a child
- Strokes
- 3
- Characters
- 34
- Role
- Contributes meaning
- Kangxi radical
- 39
Characters with 子 (31 of 34)
HSK 1 · 2
HSK 2 · 1
HSK 3 · 2
HSK 6 · 2
Beyond HSK · 18
Frequently asked questions
What does the component 子 mean?
子 means "contributes the sense of a child". In the characters that contain it, it contributes meaning.
How many Chinese characters contain 子?
34 characters in this dictionary contain 子, including ones at HSK 1, HSK 2, HSK 3, HSK 4, HSK 5, HSK 6.
Is 子 a radical?
Yes — 子 is Kangxi radical 39, one of the 214 traditional indexing radicals used to organise Chinese dictionaries.
How many strokes does 子 have?
子 is written in 3 strokes.