芝 (zhī) is a Chinese character meaning “used in 芝麻 (sesame) and 灵芝 (lingzhi / reishi mushroom)”. It is written from 艹 (grass / plant radical) and 之 (of; it), one above the other, and takes 6 strokes.
Build the character for “sesame / lingzhi mushroom”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
艹 + 之
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: Unicode U+829D 与 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 现代字形核验（第 1–3 笔构成 艹，第 4–6 笔构成 之）
Memory aid
Grass (艹) sitting on top of 之. Both parts are really in this character, and 之 also carries the sound: zhī.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
6 strokes
In real words
- 芝麻zhī masesame; sesame seed芝 = zhī
- 灵芝líng zhīlingzhi mushroom; reishi芝 = zhī
Go deeper
All readings
sesame; lingzhi mushroom
used in 芝麻 (sesame) and 灵芝 (lingzhi / reishi mushroom); an auspicious plant
多用于「芝麻」和「灵芝」，指一类植物，古人视为瑞草。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 芝麻zhī masesame; sesame seed芝 = zhī
- 灵芝líng zhīlingzhi mushroom; reishi芝 = zhī
Sound component
之 family exact
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 芝 mean?
芝 (zhī) means used in 芝麻 (sesame) and 灵芝 (lingzhi / reishi mushroom); an auspicious plant.
How do you pronounce 芝?
It is pronounced zhī.
What parts is 芝 made of?
艹 (grass / plant radical) and 之 (of; it), one above the other. The recorded source is: Unicode U+829D 与 hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 现代字形核验（第 1–3 笔构成 艹，第 4–6 笔构成 之）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 芝 have?
6. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 芝?
艹. 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 芝?
Common ones are 芝麻 and 灵芝. The reading of 芝 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.