字母 (zìmǔ) · letter (of the alphabet)

字母 (zìmǔ) means “letter (of the alphabet)”. It is written with 2 characters: 字 (character) + 母 (mother). It is an HSK 4 word in the 2021 standard.

How 字母 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

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)

母 mǔ · mother

What 母 is made of

母 is not built from smaller parts; it is written with 5 strokes.

Origin hint: A mother's breasts (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)

Example sentences

英语有二十六个字母。Yīngyǔ yǒu èrshíliù gè zìmǔ.English has twenty-six letters.

这个字母怎么读？Zhègè zìmǔ zěnme dú?How do you read this letter?

Questions about 字母

What does 字母 mean?

字母 (zìmǔ) means “letter (of the alphabet)”.

How do you pronounce 字母?

字母 is pronounced zìmǔ.

Which HSK level is 字母?

字母 is in HSK 4 (2021) and Old HSK 5.

Related words

Learn 字母 with its group

It is part of HSK 4 (2021) · Group 89: a short group with quick checks and spaced repeats.

Open the group