纸 (zhǐ) is a Chinese character meaning “paper”. It is written from 纟 (silk; thread (left-side form)) and 氏 (clan; family name), side by side, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “paper”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
纟 + 氏
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字（紙：从糸，氏聲）
Memory aid
Silk threads (纟) pressed flat next to a clan seal (氏): a sheet of paper, stamped and ready. 氏 is only here for its sound.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 报纸bào zhǐnewspaper纸 = zhǐ
- 纸张zhǐ zhāngpaper (as a material or in sheets)纸 = zhǐ
- 折纸zhé zhǐorigami; to fold paper纸 = zhǐ
- 剪纸jiǎn zhǐpaper cutting (folk art)纸 = zhǐ
- 纸屑zhǐ xièscraps of paper纸 = zhǐ
- 贴纸tiē zhǐsticker纸 = zhǐ
Go deeper
All readings
paper
paper; a sheet of paper
用植物纤维等制成的、可以书写和包装的薄片。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 报纸bào zhǐnewspaper纸 = zhǐ
- 纸张zhǐ zhāngpaper (as a material or in sheets)纸 = zhǐ
- 折纸zhé zhǐorigami; to fold paper纸 = zhǐ
- 剪纸jiǎn zhǐpaper cutting (folk art)纸 = zhǐ
- 纸屑zhǐ xièscraps of paper纸 = zhǐ
- 贴纸tiē zhǐsticker纸 = zhǐ
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 纸 mean?
纸 (zhǐ) means paper; a sheet of paper.
How do you pronounce 纸?
It is pronounced zhǐ.
What parts is 纸 made of?
纟 (silk; thread (left-side form)) and 氏 (clan; family name), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字（紙：从糸，氏聲）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 纸 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 纸?
糸. 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 纸?
Common ones are 报纸 and 纸张. The reading of 纸 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.