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HSK 4

数字

number; digit; figure

nounneutral1 episode
数
shù4th tone
字
zì4th tone

HSK level

1
2
3
4
5
6
Pinyin
shùzì
Part of speech
noun
Level
HSK 4
Strokes
19
Register
neutral
Measure word
个 / 组
In episodes
1

Stroke order for 数字

数字 is written with 19 strokes (数: 13, 字: 6). The animation replays automatically.

What does 数字 mean?

数字 (shùzì) is a noun meaning a written number, digit, or numerical figure — the symbol or value itself, as in a phone number, a statistic, or a page number.

It is neutral in register and appears constantly in daily life, finance, and news. The key distinction for English speakers is that 数字 refers to numbers as written symbols or data points, not to the abstract mathematical concept (that is 数 shù) and not to a specific quantity being counted. So a report full of statistics is 一堆数字 (a pile of figures), and going digital is 数字化.

English lumps 'number' into one word; Chinese splits the symbolic figure (数字) from the counting word (数量, shùliàng, quantity/amount) and the pure math object (数). 数字 has also become the standard translation for 'digital' in tech compounds like 数字电视 (digital TV).

Character by character

数shùnumber; count
+
字zìcharacter; written symbol
=
数字

Memory hook: A 'number-character' — the written symbol of a number.

Hear 数字 in real episodes

数字 appears in 1 Fluentide podcast episode at natural native speed — each with the full Chinese script, pinyin, and line-by-line English translation.

Progeria led doctors to declare he wouldn't survive past twelve, but Belgian blogger Michiel ultimately lived to twenty-eight.数字 spoken at natural speedmedium
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Example sentences

请把这些数字写在纸上。

Qǐng bǎ zhèxiē shùzì xiě zài zhǐ shàng.

Please write these numbers on the paper.

neutral

这个数字太大了，我记不住。

Zhège shùzì tài dà le, wǒ jì bú zhù.

This number is too big, I can't remember it.

spoken

报告里的数字都是真的吗？

Bàogào lǐ de shùzì dōu shì zhēn de ma?

Are all the figures in the report real?

neutral

现在很多服务都实现了数字化。

Xiànzài hěn duō fúwù dōu shíxiàn le shùzìhuà.

Many services have now gone digital.

written

Common phrases with 数字

阿拉伯数字Ālābó shùzìArabic numerals
数字化shùzìhuàto digitize; digitalization
一组数字yì zǔ shùzìa set of numbers
数字很大shùzì hěn dàthe figure is large

Synonyms

数shù

数 is the abstract number or count itself; 数字 is the written digit or figure. Use 数 in math ('add up the numbers' 把这些数加起来); use 数字 when you mean the printed symbols or reported statistics.

号码hàomǎ

号码 is a number used as an identifier (phone number, room number, license plate). 数字 is a numerical value or digit in general. A phone 号码 is made up of 数字.

Don't confuse 数字 with

数量shùliàng

数量 means 'quantity / amount' — how many there are. 数字 is the digit or figure. 'The quantity is large' is 数量很大, not 数字很大 unless you mean the printed figure looks big.

字数zìshù

Same two characters reversed. 字数 means 'word count / number of characters' in a text. 数字 means 'number / digit.'

FAQ

Related words from the same episodes

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Acquire it by listening

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