芝 zhī
- Strokes
- 6
- Radical
- 艹 — grass, weed, plant, herb
- Made of
- 艹 grass, weed, plant, herb 之 of
- How it's built
- Phono-semantic — one part hints at the meaning, another at the sound
芝麻
zhīma
sesame; trivial matter
Characters in this word
麻 má
- Strokes
- 11
- Radical
- 麻 — hemp, flax, sesame
- How it's built
- Ideograph — the meaning is built from its parts
Example phrases
- 这份调查把芝麻般的小问题放大，是为了说明制度漏洞如何累积成风险。 Zhè fèn diàochá bǎ zhīma bān de xiǎo wèntí fàngdà, shì wèile shuōmíng zhìdù lòudòng rúhé lěijī chéng fēngxiǎn. This investigation magnifies sesame-sized problems in order to show how institutional loopholes accumulate into risks.
- 妈妈在烧饼上撒了一把香香的芝麻。 Māma zài shāobǐng shàng sǎ le yī bǎ xiāngxiāng de zhīma. Mom sprinkled a handful of fragrant sesame onto the baked flatbread.
- 这种小事不过是芝麻绿豆的问题，别放在心上。 Zhè zhǒng xiǎoshì búguò shì zhīma lǜdòu de wèntí, bié fàng zài xīn shàng. A matter this small is just a trivial issue, so don't dwell on it.
Related words
- 麻烦 máfan troublesome; to bother
- 麻 má numb; tingling
- 麻 má hemp; flax
- 麻痹 mábì to paralyse; numb; to lull into carelessness
- 麻将 májiàng mahjong
- 麻辣 málà numbing and spicy
- 麻木 mámù numb; insensitive; indifferent
- 麻醉 mázuì to anaesthetise; to numb
- 枣 zǎo jujube; Chinese date
- 蒜 suàn garlic
- 椰子 yēzi coconut
- 虾 xiā shrimp; prawn