How to Write 子 (zi/zǐ) — Meaning “Child; son; seed”

Imagine a child sitting on the ground: the top dot is the head, the horizontal stroke is the outstretched arms, and the vertical hook is the body and legs curled together. This visual of a small person helps you recall the meaning 'child'.

Write 子 with three strokes: first a dot at the top left, then a horizontal line from left to right, finally a vertical hook that curves left at the bottom. A common mistake is making the horizontal too long or the hook too straight, which changes the balanced proportions.

子 has a horizontal stroke across its middle, while 孑 (jié, meaning 'lonely') lacks that horizontal line and looks like a dot and a hook. 孓 (jué, meaning 'wiggling larva') is like a mirror image of 孑, with the hook curving right instead of left.

子 is very common as a suffix for nouns like 桌子 (table) and in family terms like 儿子 (son) and 孩子 (child). It also appears in respectful titles such as 孔子 (Confucius), reflecting its historical importance in Chinese culture.

Common words containing 子 include: 孩子 (hái zi) — Child.; 儿子 (ér zi) — son; 桌子 (zhuō zi) — Table / Desk.