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徵

zhǐ
noun #22,323

Meanings

  1. 1 the 4th note of the ancient Chinese pentatonic scale (corresponding to sol)
  2. 2 zhi (musical note)

Examples

HSK 7-9
五音是宫、商、角、徵、羽。
Wǔyīn shì gōng, shāng, jué, zhǐ, yǔ.
The five pentatonic notes are gong, shang, jue, zhi, and yu.
HSK 7-9
这首古曲以徵调为主。
Zhè shǒu gǔ qǔ yǐ zhǐ diào wéizhǔ.
This ancient piece is primarily in the zhi mode.

Tips

history
徵 (zhǐ) is the 4th of the 五音 (five tones) of the classical Chinese pentatonic scale: 宫商角徵羽. It roughly corresponds to 'sol' in solfège. When read as zhēng, the same character means 'to levy/summon' - two completely separate words sharing one character.
usage
In modern simplified Chinese, 徵 as 'to levy' is simplified to 征. But 徵 in the musical sense retains the traditional form.

Components

radical
彳 chì
step; small stride
Step radical on the far left, the indexing radical. It marks 徵 as something done by walking - the original character meant 'to summon, to fetch', the act of going to bring someone in. The pentatonic-note reading zhǐ is a later borrowed sense layered onto the same graph.
semantic
山 shān
mountain (here graphic)
Middle-column top is 山-shaped - historically the top of an old graph for 'hidden figure waiting to be called out'. Read it as a graphic component rather than 'mountain'; the same shape sits at the top of 微 (subtle), which shares this character's middle stack.
ideograph
一 yī
one (here a horizontal stroke)
Single horizontal under the mountain-shape, separating the upper graphic from the 王 below. It acts as a structural divider in the stacked middle column rather than carrying the number sense - purely a positional marker.
semantic
王 wáng
king (here graphic)
Middle-column bottom is 王-shaped. The original graph here was a figure carrying a load on a pole, simplified into a 王 silhouette - the figure being summoned by the steps on the left. Treat it as the graphic 'caller-out' image, not 'king'.
semantic
攵 pū
rap; strike (radical form of 攴)
Right side 攵 is the action radical, picturing a hand holding a rod to strike or compel. Combined with the step on the left and the figure in the middle, the full graph captures 'walking up and prodding someone to come' - the original 'to summon, to verify'.

Stroke Order

徵 zhǐ