DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT
自
Mandarin · pinyin zì
Meanings
- (bound form) self; oneself
- from; since
- naturally; as a matter of course
Characters in this entry
- 自
- zì · self, private, personal; from; Kangxi radical 132
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Mandarin tones
4 · zi4
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
Connected dictionary
1character link15same-tone records
Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.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.
Compare dictionary sources Rime · Wiktionary
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
zi6
Cantonese word readings for 自. 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
- self, oneself; one's own
- certainly, of course
- personally
- since; from
- (swimming) short for 自由泳 (zìyóuyǒng, “freestyle”)
character
- only used in 潮州音樂——自己顧自己/潮州音乐——自己顾自己
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack