Definitions
(particle)
possessive particle (literary equivalent of 的)
(pronoun)
him; her; it
Etymology
Pictograph of a foot (止) going out of an area. The current meaning is a phonetic loan.
About
The character "之" originated from an early ideographic concept representing movement away from a starting point, initially denoting the verb "to go" or "to arrive". In its traditional form, which remains identical in contemporary usage, it is a unitary structure without separable components in modern character analysis. Over time, its primary meaning shifted from expressing physical motion to serving as a grammatical particle indicating possession or connection, akin to "of", and as a demonstrative pronoun meaning "this" or "that". In classical Chinese, it also functioned as an object pronoun or a verb linker, but these verbal applications gradually diminished, leaving the character primarily employed in set phrases and formal constructs.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
我们之间有很多共同点。
他在公司之中很有名。
放学之后，我们去打球。
吃饭之前要洗手。
北京是中国的大城市之一。
两国之间的合作非常重要。
此项决定之影响深远。
他对这个问题的理解之深刻令人惊讶。