How to Write 识 (shí/zhì) — Meaning “To know / To recognize / Knowledge”

Picture a speech bubble (讠) saying 'only (只) you' to recognize someone. Or think: 'I know (识) that only (只) this word (讠) is true.' This links the parts to the meaning of knowledge.

Start with the radical 讠: a dot then a horizontal hook, making 2 strokes. Then write 只: first the mouth (口) as a box, then two bottom strokes (left-falling and dot). A common mistake is making the right side too wide or forgetting the dot at the bottom of 只.

While all share the radical 讠, 识 uses 只 (zhǐ) on the right, meaning 'to know'. 讦 (jié) uses 干 (gān) and means 'to accuse', while 讧 (hòng) uses 工 (gōng) and means 'internal conflict'. So the right side changes both the sound and the meaning.

识 appears in common words like 认识 (rèn shí, to know someone) and 识别 (shí bié, to identify). It is also part of the formal idiom 博闻强识 (bó wén qiáng zhì), which describes someone with wide knowledge and a good memory. You will hear it often in daily conversation about knowing people or things.

Common words containing 识 include: 识别 (shí bié) — identify; recognize; 认识 (rèn shí) — to know; to recognize (someone); 博闻强识 (bó wén qiáng zhì) — To have wide learning and a retentive memory.