制

zhì

Pinyin
zhì
Pinyin (Plain)
zhi
Tone
4
Strokes
8
Radical
刀
Readings
zhìzhiTone: 4system; to control; to regulate; variant of 製|制[zhi4]Order: 0Primary
Stroke Order Code
Speed
Stroke Order Data
["M 275 618 Q 278 633 315 685 Q 322 697 309 708 Q 270 736 248 731 Q 238 730 241 716 Q 253 653 186 552 Q 180 552 156 515 Q 150 502 163 506 Q 208 515 262 597 L 275 618 Z", "M 420 606 Q 456 616 494 625 Q 527 634 532 638 Q 539 645 535 653 Q 528 663 501 670 Q 477 673 422 653 L 380 640 Q 373 639 369 637 Q 326 627 275 618 C 245 613 235 609 262 597 Q 304 576 355 592 Q 365 595 380 597 L 420 606 Z", "M 417 469 Q 423 470 574 494 Q 584 493 593 506 Q 594 518 571 527 Q 541 549 455 521 Q 436 517 418 511 L 379 502 Q 289 481 120 457 Q 92 453 114 436 Q 148 411 175 418 Q 263 439 377 461 L 417 469 Z", "M 269 355 Q 248 376 220 372 Q 208 368 214 358 Q 245 294 218 198 Q 194 164 228 121 L 230 119 Q 236 107 244 113 Q 271 132 271 224 Q 271 296 275 321 C 278 347 278 347 269 355 Z", "M 275 321 Q 314 330 373 341 L 414 348 Q 448 355 484 358 Q 512 359 514 341 Q 523 220 510 204 Q 503 198 455 203 Q 439 206 437 201 Q 434 197 445 187 Q 493 153 521 125 Q 536 113 548 127 Q 570 158 572 221 Q 566 296 574 348 Q 578 367 568 377 Q 541 399 524 409 Q 511 415 503 406 Q 497 399 415 379 L 374 371 Q 334 367 269 355 C 239 350 246 314 275 321 Z", "M 373 341 Q 367 185 348 110 Q 336 98 339 60 Q 339 47 358 5 Q 364 -11 371 -15 Q 377 -21 384 -14 Q 391 -10 401 10 Q 411 34 410 63 Q 409 100 414 348 L 415 379 Q 415 422 417 469 L 418 511 Q 418 559 420 606 L 422 653 Q 426 710 440 753 Q 449 766 446 780 Q 439 789 387 821 Q 365 837 346 823 Q 342 819 347 804 Q 380 755 380 705 Q 380 674 380 640 L 380 597 Q 380 519 379 502 L 377 461 Q 376 418 374 371 L 373 341 Z", "M 624 591 Q 654 527 632 352 Q 625 319 652 286 Q 662 276 670 286 Q 685 310 687 383 Q 687 530 692 563 Q 698 584 679 595 Q 639 617 628 611 Q 621 604 624 591 Z", "M 789 726 Q 793 690 789 145 Q 788 123 776 113 Q 770 107 701 120 Q 668 130 671 121 Q 672 114 693 99 Q 756 51 772 23 Q 791 -10 807 -11 Q 822 -11 835 23 Q 853 69 850 142 Q 834 380 842 620 Q 846 708 859 753 Q 875 784 820 805 Q 786 824 767 817 Q 749 810 766 787 Q 787 760 789 726 Z"]
Meaning
“制” basically means “to make or produce according to a plan” and “to control or restrict something,” as in making rules, systems, or products. It also appears in words about systems and regulations (e.g., 制度 “system,” 法制 “legal system”).
Metadata
Locale: en
Cached At: 5/13/2026, 4:42:25 PM

Usage

“制” is most commonly seen as part of compound words rather than used alone in everyday speech. Its core meanings are “to make,” “to manufacture,” “to control,” or “to regulate,” so learners most often meet it in words related to making things or setting rules. Typical examples include 制作 (zhìzuò, to make/produce, e.g., videos, food, crafts), 制造 (zhìzào, to manufacture, especially industrial production), and 制定 (zhìdìng, to draw up / formulate, like laws or plans). These give a clear sense of “creating according to a plan” or “setting something up in an organized, deliberate way.” Another major usage pattern is “制” in the sense of rules, systems, and control. For example, 制度 (zhìdù, system/institution), 法制 (fǎzhì, legal system or rule of law), and 制约 (zhìyuē, to restrict/constraint) all show how it connects to regulation and constraint. It also appears in words for standards and patterns, such as 制服 (zhìfú, uniform) and 标准制/公制 (biāozhǔnzhì/gōngzhì, standard system/metric system). Overall, learners can remember “制” as a versatile morpheme touching on “making to a standard” and “setting or enforcing rules.”

Handwriting Notes

制 is visually quite compact and slightly tall, with a clear division between the upper “cloth/flag-like” part (𠂉＋巾) and the lower 刂 (“knife”) on the right. In everyday handwriting, people often simplify the interior details: the top horizontal and slanting strokes may be written in a more fluid, slightly curved way, and the巾 component in the middle can look like a small box with a vertical line that may or may not clearly touch the bottom stroke. The right-side 刂 is usually written with a fairly straight vertical and a short, slightly curved stroke at the bottom right; that lower stroke can be angled or even hooked depending on the writer’s style. Some writers keep everything quite squared and angular, while others round the corners and connect strokes more, so the character can range from sharp and blocky to more cursive and flowing, but the general “block on the left + vertical-knife on the right” silhouette tends to remain recognizable. Because of these natural variations in stroke shape, angle, and connectedness, AI-based handwriting recognition systems are commonly used in input methods and scanning tools to identify 制 from handwritten notes, whiteboards, or touch-screen writing. These systems are trained on many different handwriting styles so that even slightly distorted or casual versions of 制 can usually be recognized correctly.

Description

制 is a common character meaning “to make,” “to manufacture,” or “to control/restrict,” as in 制作 (to make/produce) and 制止 (to stop, to put a stop to). It often appears in words about rules or systems, such as 制度 (system) and 法制 (legal system).

Common Words

  • 制zhi4system
  • 形制xing2 zhi4form
  • 木制mu4 zhi4wooden
  • 缝制feng2 zhi4to sew
  • 体制ti3 zhi4system

Example Sentences

我喜欢制。

wo3 xi3 huan5 zhi4

I like system.

形制很常见。

xing2 zhi4 hen3 chang2 jian4

形制 is very common.

我们在学习木制。

wo3 men5 zai4 xue2 xi2 mu4 zhi4

We are learning wooden.

这个缝制很重要。

zhe4 ge5 feng2 zhi4 hen3 zhong4 yao4

This to sew is important.

请写一下“制”。

qing3 xie3 yi1 xia4 zhi4

Please write '制'.

Try writing this character