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自 — self; oneself; from

self; oneself; from; since; naturally; as a matter of course

Pinyin
zì
Strokes
6
HSK level
HSK 2
Handwriting
recognition only

How to write 自: 6 strokes

Each cell adds one stroke to the previous ones, with the new stroke in red. Stroke order is not decoration: it sets the proportions of the character and makes handwriting legible to a reader. The syllabus asks you to recognise this character rather than write it by hand.

自 — 6 strokes, in writing order from left to right.

Build a printable practice sheet with 自

Words with 自 in the HSK syllabus: 57

Every word in the official 2026 syllabus that contains this character, with the level it is introduced at. Learning a character pays off through these: each one combines with the characters you already know.

  1. 自己zìjǐoneself; one's ownHSK 2
  2. 来自láizìto come from; From:HSK 3
  3. 自行车zìxíngchēbicycle; bikeHSK 3
  4. 大自然dàzìránnatureHSK 4
  5. 自zìself; oneself; from; sinceHSK 4
  6. 自然zìránnature; natural; naturallyHSK 4
  7. 自习zìxíto study outside of class timeHSK 4
  8. 自信zìxìnto have confidence in oneself; self-confidenceHSK 4
  9. 自学zìxuéself-study; to study on one's ownHSK 4
  10. 出自chūzìto come fromHSK 5
  11. 独自dúzìaloneHSK 5
  12. 各自gèzìeach; respective; apieceHSK 5
  13. 亲自qīnzìpersonally; in person; oneselfHSK 5
  14. 自从zìcóngsince; ever sinceHSK 5
  15. 自动zìdòngautomatic; voluntarilyHSK 5
  16. 自觉zìjuéto realize; to be aware of; to feel that; to be conscious ofHSK 5
  17. 自身zìshēnitself; oneself; one's ownHSK 5
  18. 自由zìyóufreedom; liberty; free; unrestrictedHSK 5
  19. 自豪zìháoproudHSK 6
  20. 自来水zìláishuǐrunning water; tap waterHSK 6
  21. 自律zìlǜself-discipline; self-regulation; autonomyHSK 6
  22. 自杀zìshāto kill oneself; to commit suicideHSK 6
  23. 自我zìwǒthe self; oneself; self-; egoHSK 6
  24. 自言自语zìyán-zìyǔto talk to oneself; to think aloud; to soliloquizeHSK 6
  25. 自愿zìyuànvoluntaryHSK 6
  26. 自助zìzhùself-serviceHSK 6
  27. 不由自主bùyóuzìzhǔcan't help but; involuntarilyHSK 7–9
  28. 情不自禁qíngbúzìjīncannot refrain from; cannot help; cannot butHSK 7–9
  29. 擅自shànzìwithout permissionHSK 7–9
  30. 顺其自然shùnqízìránto let nature take its courseHSK 7–9
  31. 私自sīzìprivate; personalHSK 7–9
  32. 怡然自得yírán-zìdéhappy and contentHSK 7–9
  33. 自卑zìbēito have low self-esteem; to abase oneselfHSK 7–9
  34. 自称zìchēngto call oneself; to claim to be; to professHSK 7–9
  35. 自发zìfāspontaneousHSK 7–9
  36. 自费zìfèiat one's own expense; self-fundedHSK 7–9
  37. 自负zìfùconceited; to take responsibilityHSK 7–9
  38. 自立zìlìindependent; self-reliant; self-sustainingHSK 7–9
  39. 自理zìlǐto take care of oneself; to provide for oneselfHSK 7–9
  40. 自力更生zìlì-gēngshēngregeneration through one's own effort; self-relianceHSK 7–9

And 17 more across the higher levels — the full lists are on the level pages.

Glosses come from CC-CEDICT, used under CC BY-SA 4.0, and are the dictionary’s first sense rather than a translation chosen for context.