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质

質
zhì
component #5,638

Meanings

  1. 1 quality
  2. 2 nature
  3. 3 substance
  4. 4 to pledge

Examples

质量
Zhìliàng
quality; mass
物质
Wùzhì
matter; material; substance

Tips

usage
斤 axe + 贝 shell — testing the substance of things, as one tests metal

Components

radical
贝 bèi
cowrie shell; money
Bottom cowrie-shell radical, the indexing component. Cowries were ancient currency, so 贝 marks 质 as a value/wealth character: original sense was 'pledge, hostage, collateral' — something axes were given for, paid in shells. Modern senses 'quality, substance, nature' extend from 'what something really is worth.'
semantic
厂 chǎng
cliff; shelter
Outer cliff/shelter that wraps the upper-left of 质. Originally 質 had two 斤 (axes) on top, depicting axes used as collateral pledges; in simplification the two axes flattened into 厂 + 十. The cliff here is a graphic residue of those tools, not a true shelter.
ideograph
十 shí
cross-stroke
Cross under the cliff — stylised remnant of the inner 斤 (axe-blade) from the traditional 質. In 1956 simplification the doubled axes 斦 collapsed into this single cross. It functions as a graphic placeholder rather than the numeral 'ten.'

Stroke Order

质 zhì