zhì
verb HSK 7-9 #3,291

Meanings

  1. 1 to control; to restrict
  2. 2 to make; to manufacture
  3. 3 system; institution

Examples

HSK 3
Zhè shì Zhōngguó zhìzào de.
This is made in China.
HSK 5
Jiàoyù zhìdù xūyào gǎigé.
The education system needs reform.
HSK 6
Nǐ yào xuéhuì kòngzhì qíngxù.
You should learn to control your emotions.

Tips

usage
is used in: 制度 (system), 控制 (to control), 制造 (to manufacture), 制作 (to produce), 限制 (to limit), 复制 (to copy). It has dual meanings of 'controlling' and 'making.'

Components

radical
dāo
knife (radical form)
Right-side knife radical , the standing form of , is the indexing component. It supplies the cutting tool that acts on the wood: tree trimmed by knife yields a fashioned object, hence 'manufacture, make.' The senses 'control, restrict, regulate' extend from disciplined cutting.
semantic
zhū
vermilion; cut tree
Left side preserves , originally a pictograph of a tree with a mark across the trunk to show where it was being cut. That image of trimming a tree carries the seed of 'shape, fashion, make.' The modern stylization blurs the tree but the unit still reads as one block.

Stroke Order

zhì