DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT

直

Mandarin · pinyin zhí#

straight
to straighten
fair and reasonable
frank
straightforward
(indicates continuing motion or action)
vertical
vertical downward stroke in Chinese characters

Mandarin · pinyin Zhí#

surname Zhi
Zhi (c. 2000 BC), fifth of the legendary Flame Emperors 炎帝 Yán dì descended from Shennong 神農 Shén nóng Farmer God

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Characters in this entry

直: zhí · straight, erect, vertical

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

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Mandarin tones

2 · zhi2

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1character link35same-tone records

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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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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zik6

Cantonese word readings for 直. 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.

character

straight; linear; undeviating
to straighten
vertical; upright; erect; perpendicular
honest; fair; just; upright
straightforward; forthright; frank
directly; straight
stiff; numb
constantly; continuously
simply; just; only
(Hokkien) settled; clear; brought to an end
a simple kind of board game similar to Go, played in southern Fujian and Taiwan
(Chinese calligraphy) vertical stroke in Chinese characters
(slang) straight; heterosexual
(historical) short for 直隸／直隶 (Zhílì, “Zhili”)
(obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) alternative form of 值 (“to be worth”)
(Cantonese, slang, figurative) dead
a surname

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

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