verb

Meanings

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

Examples

HSK 7-9
Xiàtiān wénzi zīshēng hěnkuài.
Mosquitoes multiply quickly in summer.
HSK 7-9
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