指南针

指南针 zhǐnánzhēn

Compass

指南针 in a sentence HSK 6 繁體 指南針 zhinanzhen

What 指南针 means

  1. Compass

These meanings come from the same dictionary that powers the Chinese to Pinyin translator and the Chinese to English translator, so a whole sentence containing 指南针 will read it the same way this page does.

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Character by character

指南针 is written with 3 characters. Chinese words are usually easier to remember once you can see what each part contributes.

指
zhǐ
Indicate (point out - refer to - finger)
南
nán
South
针
zhēn
Needle (pin - injection - stitch)

How to write 指南针

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Practise 指南针 on printable 田字格 sheets, trace it in the writing practice tool, or watch any other character in the Stroke Order Animator.

指南针 in a sentence

指南针是中国古代的重要发明。
Zhǐnánzhēn shì Zhōngguó gǔdài de zhòngyào fāmíng.
The compass is an important ancient Chinese invention.
在森林里指南针很有用。
Zài sēnlín lǐ zhǐnánzhēn hěn yǒuyòng.
A compass is very useful in a forest.

Every sentence on this site that uses 指南针 is collected on the 指南针 sentence page. Want pinyin above a sentence of your own? Paste it into the Pinyin Annotator.

Questions about 指南针

What does 指南针 mean in English?

指南针 is pronounced zhǐnánzhēn and means Compass.

How do you pronounce 指南针?

指南针 is zhǐnánzhēn in pinyin — written zhinanzhen without tone marks. Press the audio button on this page to hear it spoken by a native voice.

What are the characters in 指南针?

指南针 is written with 3 characters: 指 (zhǐ) Indicate (point out - refer to - finger), 南 (nán) South, 针 (zhēn) Needle (pin - injection - stitch). Knowing the parts is usually how the whole word becomes memorable.

How is 指南针 written in traditional Chinese?

指南針. The simplified form 指南针 is used in mainland China and Singapore; 指南針 is used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. Both are pronounced zhǐnánzhēn.

Is 指南针 an HSK word?

Yes — 指南针 is on the official HSK 6 vocabulary list. You can study it with the rest of that list on the HSK 6 page.

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