自

zì
#43 most
frequent character
from, since, self, oneself
preposition
pronoun

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

自 is a picture of a person's nose, and that was its first meaning. From 'nose' grew 'self', while 'from' was borrowed for its sound.

Drawn as: person's nose

自 as a component in other characters

meaning3 characters
息咱鼻
sound2 characters
瘪洎
picture3 characters
臭戛臬

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Example Sentences

我从这里自驾去北京。
wǒ cóng zhèlǐ zì jiàqù běijīng 。
I drive from here to Beijing.
自我介绍一下。
zìwǒ jièshào yīxià 。
Let me introduce myself.
我们可以从自家出发。
wǒmen kěyǐ cóng zìjiā chūfā 。
We can start from our own home.

Words Starting With 自

自行车zì xíng chē
bicycle; bike
自己zì jǐ
self; (reflexive pronoun); own
自然zì rán
nature; natural; naturally
自从zì cóng
since (a time); ever since
自信zì xìn
confidence; self-confidence

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