漢字Kanji · in Human Body & People
子: child, sign of the rat
Also: 11PM-1AM, first sign of Chinese zodiac
Oracle bone · Shang Bronze · Western Zhou Small seal · Qin Today
Oracle bone: Wikimedia Commons, traced from Academia Sinica, CC0. Bronze: Wikimedia Commons, public domain. Small seal: Academia Sinica 小學堂, CC0. Today’s form: KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Three readings, and the words that use each
シshi · on'yomi · in compounds
- 帽子ぼうしhat, cap
- 電子レンジでんしレンジmicrowave oven
- 調子ちょうしpitch, mood, condition
- 菓子屋かしやcandy shop
- 遺伝子いでんしgene
- 養子ようしadopted child
- 利子りしinterest (bank)
スsu · on'yomi
- 椅子いすchair
- 様子ようすappearance
こko · kun'yomi · on its own
- 子供こどもchild
Special readingsThese words are read as a whole, not from the readings above.
- 息子むすこson
- 迷子まいごlost child
Also read ツ, -こ, ね, with no example words in our sources. Words: Kanji alive, CC BY 4.0.
Where it comes from
Origin · sourced
Pictogram (象形)
An image of a baby, with a large head and spread arms. The legs are wrapped in a blanket.
Source: Wiktionary, 子 (rev. 94594159), CC BY-SA 4.0
Memory story · made up to help you remember
“See the baby reaching out from the cradle! This character captures the innocence and joy of youth.”
Connections
Also read ス
12 kanji share this on'yomiAlso read ツ
3 kanji share this on'yomiIn ChineseSame character in simplified and traditional · zǐ
Same form: 子 is written the same way in mainland China (simplified) and in Taiwan and Hong Kong (traditional).
- Simplified
- 子 mainland China, Singapore
- Traditional
- 子 Taiwan, Hong Kong
Pinyin zǐ most common reading
Forms and pinyin: Unicode Unihan database (Unicode License v3). Pinyin lists the most common reading, not every reading.