adjective #36,837

Meanings

  1. 1 diligent (used in 孜孜)
  2. 2 tireless (in compounds)

Examples

Tā zīzībùjuàn de xuéxí.
He studies diligently and tirelessly.
Zīrán shì Xīnjiāng shāokǎo de línghún.
Cumin is the soul of Xinjiang barbecue.

Tips

usage
Almost never appears alone in modern Chinese. You'll meet it in two contexts: the reduplicated (diligently, as in 孜孜不倦) and the loanword 孜然 (cumin).
memory
Mnemonic: (child) under (a hand striking) — a child being prodded to keep working. The character literally pictures someone being kept at it.

Components

radical
tap; strike (radical form)
Right rap radical (side-form of ) — pictograph of a hand holding a stick, signifying instruction or correction. Together with it depicts teaching a child by tapping for attention — the disciplined, repeated effort behind 孜孜不倦 'tirelessly diligent.' Family: teach, reform, attack, govern.
phonetic
child (here phonetic)
Left supplies the sound: zǐ → zī with tone shift. Pictograph of a child with arms outstretched and a swaddled body. Faint semantic resonance with the schoolroom imagery — a child being instructed — fits the 'diligent study' sense that conveys.

Stroke Order