之 (zhī) is a Chinese character meaning “a literary or formal linking word meaning ‘of’”. It is written from 丶 (dot stroke) and ㇇ and ㇏, and takes 3 strokes.
Build the character for “of; it”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
丶 + ㇇ + ㇏
Top–middle–bottom structure
Structure from: hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph and stroke inspection
Memory aid
A dot (丶) leads into a horizontal-turning stroke (㇇), then a broad right-falling stroke (㇏) completes 之.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
3 strokes
In real words
- 之后zhī hòuafter; afterward之 = zhī
- 之一zhī yīone of之 = zhī
- 悔之晚矣huǐ zhī wǎn yǐtoo late to regret it now之 = zhīspoken ashuǐ zhī wán yǐ
Go deeper
All readings
of; it
a literary or formal linking word meaning ‘of’; also a literary pronoun meaning ‘it’ or ‘him/her’
文言或书面语中表示领属、修饰关系，相当于“的”；也可作代词，表示“它”或“他（她）”。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 之后zhī hòuafter; afterward之 = zhī
- 之一zhī yīone of之 = zhī
- 悔之晚矣huǐ zhī wǎn yǐtoo late to regret it now之 = zhīspoken ashuǐ zhī wán yǐ
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 之 mean?
之 (zhī) means a literary or formal linking word meaning ‘of’; also a literary pronoun meaning ‘it’ or ‘him/her’.
How do you pronounce 之?
It is pronounced zhī.
What parts is 之 made of?
丶 (dot stroke) and ㇇ and ㇏. The recorded source is: hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph and stroke inspection. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 之 have?
3. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 之?
丶. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 之?
Common ones are 之后 and 之一. The reading of 之 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.