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指事

Mandarin · pinyin zhǐ shì

ideogram (one of the Six Methods 六書 of forming Chinese characters)
Chinese character indicating an idea, such as up and down
also known as self-explanatory character

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Characters in this entry

指: zhǐ · finger, toe; point, indicate
事: shì · affair, matter, business; to serve; accident, incident

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

3–4 · zhi3 shi4

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Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 1 sense · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zi2 si6

Cantonese word readings for 指事. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

noun

(Chinese character classification) one of the types of Han characters such as 上 (shàng, “above”) and 下 (xià, “below”) that indicate an abstract idea with a non-arbitrary logogram

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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