Chinese–EnglishWith examples

字母

zì mǔ · zi mu

Same in simplified and traditional Chinese

HSK 4Old HSK 6Measure word: 个 gè

Meaning

CC-CEDICT
  1. letter (of the alphabet)
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In a conversation

0:15 cartoon

Does Chinese have letters?

  1. Leon

    汉语(hànyǔ)有(yǒu)字母(zìmǔ)吗(ma)？

    Does Chinese have letters?

  2. Dengdeng

    汉语(hànyǔ)没有(méiyǒu)字母(zìmǔ)，但是(dànshì)拼音(pīnyīn)有(yǒu)字母(zìmǔ)。

    Chinese has no letters, but pinyin does.

  3. Liangliang

    对(duì)，拼音(pīnyīn)一共(yīgòng)有(yǒu)二十六个(èrshíliùgè)字母(zìmǔ)。

    Right, pinyin has twenty-six letters in total.

  4. Leon

    那(nà)和(hé)英语(yīngyǔ)一样(yīyàng)多(duō)！

    Then it is the same number as English!

  5. Dengdeng

    对(duì)，不过(bùguò)声调(shēngdiào)更(gèng)难(nán)。

    Yes, but the tones are harder.

Tap a word for its meaning in this line. The characters’ voices are computer-generated.

In a sentence

2 examples
01

你(nǐ)能(néng)把(bǎ)这(zhè)清(qīng)单(dān)按(àn)字(zì)母(mǔ)顺(shùn)序(xù)排(pái)列(liè)吗(ma)？

Could you rearrange this list so it's in alphabetical order?

Tatoeba: Chinese by nickyeow · English by honestlang · CC BY 2.0 FR. Simplified Chinese conversion; Pinyin added or corrected.

02

这(zhè)个(ge)单(dān)词(cí)由(yóu)五(wǔ)个(ge)字(zì)母(mǔ)组(zǔ)成(chéng)。

This word is made up of five letters.

Sources & licenses

How to write

Stroke order & practice

Choose a character to watch its strokes or trace it yourself.

Mainland China stroke order, including traditional characters. Drawing sources & licenses.

Definitions adapted from CC-CEDICT, published by MDBG and its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Pinyin display and entry grouping have been adapted.

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