札

剳/劄

zhá

乚 + 木

Definitions

zhá variant of 札[zhá]

zhá thin piece of wood used a writing tablet (in ancient China); a kind of official document (in former times); letter; note; plague

Etymology

About

The character 札 is a phono-semantic compound combining the wood radical 木, which indicates the material, with the phonetic component 乙. Historically, it referred to small, thin strips of wood or bamboo that were bound together and used for writing before paper became widely adopted. From this physical medium, the meaning extended to the texts written on these slips, eventually coming to denote letters, short notes, official correspondence, and other documents of administrative and personal communication.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

他收到一封书札。

Tā shōu dào yì fēng shū zhá.

He received a letter.

这封信札很古老。

Zhè fēng xìn zhá hěn gǔ lǎo.

This letter is very old.

我的札记写完了。

Wǒ de zhá jì xiě wán le.

I have finished writing my notes.

她经常写手札给朋友。

Tā jīng cháng xiě shǒu zhá gěi péng you.

She often writes handwritten letters to friends.

阅读札记有助于学习。

Yuè dú zhá jì yǒu zhù yú xué xí.

Reading notes helps with learning.

这本札记包含了详细观察。

Zhè běn zhá jì bāo hán le xiáng xì guān chá.

This notebook contains detailed observations.

虽然时代变了，但书札仍有魅力。

Suī rán shí dài biàn le, dàn shū zhá réng yǒu mèi lì.

Although times have changed, letters still have charm.

他不仅写了信札，还附上了札记。

Tā bù jǐn xiě le xìn zhá, hái fù shàng le zhá jì.

He not only wrote a letter, but also attached notes.

Related Characters

Composed characters:

Component: 乚

Component: 木

札