自然

Mandarin · pinyin zì rán

Meanings

  1. nature
  2. natural
  3. naturally
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Characters in this entry

自
zì · self, private, personal; from; Kangxi radical 132
然
rán · yes, certainly; pledge, promise
Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–2 · zi4 ran2

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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 · 6 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

zi6 jin4

Cantonese word readings for 自然. 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

  1. nature; the natural world

adj

  1. natural; of or relating to nature
  2. natural; at ease; without strain

adv

  1. naturally; in a natural manner
  2. naturally; of course; as a matter of course

conj

  1. admittedly

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

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack