verb

Meanings

  1. 1 to multiply
  2. 2 to breed
  3. 3 to propagate

Examples

Xiàtiān wénzi zīshēng hěnkuài.
Mosquitoes multiply quickly in summer.
Jīshuǐ róngyì zīshēng xìjūn.
Standing water easily breeds bacteria.

Tips

usage
almost always appears in the compound 孳生 (to breed/multiply) in modern Chinese - used for pests, bacteria, and (figuratively) social ills. Standalone use is classical and rare. Don't confuse with (to nourish), which looks similar.

Components

radical
child; offspring
Bottom - the indexing radical, pictograph of a swaddled baby with outstretched arm. Carries the meaning: is about producing children, breeding, multiplying. The classical phrase 孳孳 (assiduous, like a parent tirelessly nurturing) preserves this. Family: , , .
phonetic
this; now
Top supplies the sound directly: zī to zī. Faint semantic flavour - pictured two silk cocoons side by side, suggesting multiplication, and means to breed in abundance. Same phonetic in nourish, magnetic, cormorant - all with an undertone of growth or pairing.

Stroke Order