verb

Meanings

  1. 1 (classical) to slander; to disparage
  2. 2 (classical) to assess; to calculate (read zī)

Examples

Zhuōshàng fàng zhe yì chuàn zǐsè de pútáo.
There is a bunch of purple grapes on the table.

Tips

history
No standalone use in modern Chinese. It is read zǐ for "to slander" (as in 訾议, to criticize) and zī for "to assess / wealth", and is also a surname. Built from over the speech radical .
register
Classical and literary only; met in old texts and as a rare surname, not in speech.

Components

radical
yán
speech; words
The full speech radical underneath. It supplies the core idea of words and talk, fitting the slander sense, and places the character with other speech words like and .
phonetic
this; phonetic
Sits on top and carries the sound, close to zǐ. The same element gives the reading of and ; here it provides pronunciation only.

Stroke Order