字典
HSK 3 (exam 2025)HSK 2 (2021)
字典 (zìdiǎn) · dictionary
字典 (zìdiǎn) means “dictionary”. It is written with 2 characters: 字 (character) + 典 (law). It is an HSK 3 word in the current exam syllabus (2025).
How 字典 is built
The characters
字 zì · character
What 字 is made of
- 宀 — roof
- 丶 — dot
- 冖mì — cover
- 子zǐ — child
- 了liǎo / le — finish
- 乛 — bent stroke
- 亅 — hook
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 了liǎo / le — finish
Origin hint: A child 子 in a house 宀; 子 also provides the pronunciation (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)
典 diǎn · law
What 典 is made of
- 曲qū — crooked
- 曰yuē — to speak
- 口kǒu — mouth
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 丨 — vertical stroke
- 丨 — vertical stroke
- 曰yuē — to speak
- 八bā — eight
Origin hint: Two hands 八 holding a book 冊 (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)
Example sentences
我用字典查生词。Wǒ yòng zìdiǎn chá shēngcí.I use a dictionary to look up new words.
你有汉语字典吗？Nǐ yǒu Hànyǔ zìdiǎn ma?Do you have a Chinese dictionary?
Questions about 字典
What does 字典 mean?
字典 (zìdiǎn) means “dictionary”.
How do you pronounce 字典?
字典 is pronounced zìdiǎn.
Which HSK level is 字典?
字典 is in HSK 3 (exam 2025) and HSK 2 (2021).
Related words
- 汉字hànzìChinese character
- 名字míngziname
- 数字shùzìnumber
- 文字wénzìwriting
- 字母zìmǔletter (of the alphabet)
- 字幕zìmùsubtitles
- 赤字chìzìdeficit
- 繁体字fántǐzìtraditional Chinese characters
- 简体字jiǎntǐzìsimplified Chinese characters
- 十字路口shízìlùkǒucrossroads
Learn 字典 with its group
It is part of HSK 2 (2021) · Group 52: a short group with quick checks and spaced repeats.