(zhì) — HSK 4 Recognition Character: Meaning, Radical & Stroke Order

zhì essence, nature; material, substance 8 strokes · Radical (cliff) · HSK 4 recognition character (认读字)
👁 Recognition only: the official HSK 4 syllabus asks you to recognize 质 when reading — handwriting it is not required (that applies to the 150 writing characters). The stroke animation below is optional but helps memory.

Pronunciation & meaning

Pronounced zhì.

Stroke Order & Practice

Click Animate to see the correct stroke order, then Practice to trace it yourself.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
质 — 8 strokes, numbered in writing order. 笔顺图(数字为下笔顺序)。

Decomposition

breaks down into 3 components arranged as Upper-left envelops Inner. Recognizing the components makes the character easier to remember and write.

= outer cliff
inner ten
part sea shell

Radical

The radical of is — meaning cliff. Radicals are the indexing components used in Chinese dictionaries; they often hint at a character's broad meaning category.

Other HSK 4 characters that share this radical: .

How the character is built

is a phono-semantic compound. The semantic component (shell) carries the meaning, while the phonetic component originally indicated the sound.

HSK 4 Words Containing 质

zhìliàng quality
这个品牌的质量很好。
Zhège pǐnpái de zhìliàng hěn hǎo.
This brand has very good quality.

Seen in the Real Exams / 真题例句

appears in 22 questions across the 19 mock & official HSK 4 exams on this site. Real exam sentences using it:

他们的筷子用不同的材料做成,颜色也都不一样,量很好。
From Mock Exam 04 →
最重要的是选择适合自己的衣服,能够展示自己的个性和气
From Mock Exam 07 →

Tasks Featuring 质 / 相关任务

Words containing appear in these official HSK 4 task scenarios — study the character in context:

📚 交流购物体验、商业活动内容
Shopping Experiences · 质量

FAQ

What does 质 mean in Chinese?

质 (zhì) means essence, nature; material, substance. It is one of the 441 characters HSK 4 requires you to recognize when reading (认读字).

How many strokes does 质 have?

质 is written in 8 strokes. Use the practice tool above to see the correct stroke order and trace it yourself.

What is the radical of 质?

The radical of 质 is 厂 (cliff). Other HSK 4 characters with the same radical include 压, 厂, 原, 厕, 厨.

What is the pinyin for 质?

质 is pronounced zhì.

What HSK 4 words use 质?

In our HSK 4 vocabulary, 质 appears in 1 word, including 质量 (zhìliàng). See the full list above.

zhǐ All Characters zhōu →