鼻子
nose
HSK level
- Pinyin
- bízi
- Part of speech
- noun
- Level
- HSK 3
- Strokes
- 17
- Register
- neutral
- Measure word
- 个
Stroke order for 鼻子
鼻子 is written with 17 strokes (鼻: 14, 子: 3). The animation replays automatically.
What does 鼻子 mean?
鼻子 (bízi) is the everyday Chinese noun for 'nose' — the organ on your face used for breathing and smelling.
The second syllable 子 is a noun suffix with neutral tone; it carries no meaning of its own here, just like 房子 (house) or 桌子 (table). Two things differ from English: first, Chinese names body parts with this 子 suffix far more often than English uses any marker, so beginners should expect 鼻子 rather than bare 鼻; second, 鼻子 is the all-purpose word in both spoken and written contexts — medical or anatomical writing may use the single character 鼻 (e.g.
鼻炎 rhinitis, 鼻血 nosebleed), but in conversation you almost always say 鼻子. Common collocations cover blowing your nose (擤鼻子), a blocked nose (鼻子不通), and a high nose bridge (鼻子高).
Character by character
Memory hook: 鼻 already looks a bit like a face with a nose in the middle — the 自 component on top originally was a pictograph of a nose.
Example sentences
我的鼻子有点儿不舒服。
Wǒ de bízi yǒu diǎnr bù shūfu.
My nose feels a bit uncomfortable.
spoken
他感冒了，鼻子不通。
Tā gǎnmào le, bízi bù tōng.
He has a cold and his nose is stuffed up.
neutral
妹妹的鼻子又小又可爱。
Mèimei de bízi yòu xiǎo yòu kě'ài.
My little sister's nose is small and cute.
spoken
请用纸巾擤一下鼻子。
Qǐng yòng zhǐjīn xǐng yíxià bízi.
Please use a tissue to blow your nose.
polite
Common phrases with 鼻子
Synonyms
Single-character 鼻 is the literary or technical form, used in compounds like 鼻炎 (rhinitis) or 鼻孔 (nostril). In everyday speech, native speakers say 鼻子, never bare 鼻.
Don't confuse 鼻子 with
脖子 means 'neck' — same 子 suffix pattern, similar sound shape. The first character differs: 鼻 (nose) vs 脖 (neck). Beginners often hear them as the same word.
胡子 means 'beard / moustache' — also lives on the face and also takes the 子 suffix. Different character, different meaning.
FAQ
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