汉字

• Pinyin: hàn zì
• Hanzi breakdown: 汉 (Han people) + 字 (character, writing) — the written characters of Chinese

Meaning

Chinese characters; the writing system used for the Chinese language.

Refers specifically to the written characters, not the spoken language. Learning to write 汉字 is a major part of Chinese language study. Simplified characters (简体字) are used in mainland China; traditional characters (繁体字) are used in Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Examples

1. 我每天练习写汉字。 I practise writing Chinese characters every day.
2. 这个汉字怎么读？ How do you read this Chinese character?
3. 汉字很有意思。 Chinese characters are very interesting.

Usage Guide

Context: education, language learning

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 你会写多少个汉字？(How many Chinese characters can you write?)
• 这个汉字太难了。(This Chinese character is too difficult.)

Don't Say

• 我会说汉字。(You don't 'speak' characters — say 我会写汉字 for writing or 我会说汉语 for speaking)

Origin & History

Compound of 汉 (Han people) and 字 (character, word) — the characters of the Han people's writing system.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal