字Study Chinese Characters
直

zhí straight

8 strokes

直 (zhí) is a Chinese character meaning “straight”. It is written from 十 (ten) and 目 (eye) and 一 (one), and takes 8 strokes.

Build the character for “straight”

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Learn this character

Structure

十 + 目 + 一

Top–middle–bottom structure

  • 十 ten · shí unknown
  • 目 eye · mù unknown
  • 一 one · yī unknown

Structure from: Unicode U+76F4; 现代字形分层拆分，依据 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 的八笔几何核验（十 2 笔 + 目 5 笔 + 一 1 笔 = 8 笔）

Memory aid

Ten (十) eyes (目) checking against one (一) long baseline at the bottom. When that many eyes agree with the line, the thing really is straight.

This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.

Stroke order

8 strokes

In real words

  • 一直yì zhícontinuously; all along直 = zhíHSK 3
  • 正直zhèng zhíhonest; upright直 = zhí
  • 垂直chuí zhívertical; perpendicular直 = zhí
  • 直径zhí jìngdiameter直 = zhí
  • 挺直tǐng zhíto straighten up; straight and upright直 = zhí
  • 竖直shù zhívertical; straight up and down直 = zhí
  • 耿直gěng zhíhonest and frank; upright; straightforward直 = zhí
Go deeper

All readings

zhí main reading

straight

straight; upright; vertical; direct; frank; continuously

不弯曲的；上下垂直的。也表示直接、坦率，或动作持续不断。 — studyhanzi 编写

Words with this reading

  • 一直yì zhícontinuously; all along直 = zhíHSK 3
  • 正直zhèng zhíhonest; upright直 = zhí
  • 垂直chuí zhívertical; perpendicular直 = zhí
  • 直径zhí jìngdiameter直 = zhí
  • 挺直tǐng zhíto straighten up; straight and upright直 = zhí
  • 竖直shù zhívertical; straight up and down直 = zhí
  • 耿直gěng zhíhonest and frank; upright; straightforward直 = zhí

Other characters with these parts

十 → 丧什伞千卉华协卑

目 → 具盯自冒厢泪盲相

一 → 一七丁丈三万下与

Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions

Questions people ask about this character

What does 直 mean?

直 (zhí) means straight; upright; vertical; direct; frank; continuously.

How do you pronounce 直?

It is pronounced zhí.

What parts is 直 made of?

十 (ten) and 目 (eye) and 一 (one). The recorded source is: Unicode U+76F4; 现代字形分层拆分，依据 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 的八笔几何核验（十 2 笔 + 目 5 笔 + 一 1 笔 = 8 笔）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.

How many strokes does 直 have?

8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.

What is the radical of 直?

目. 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 直?

Common ones are 一直 and 正直. The reading of 直 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.