(zǐ xì) - careful, attentive, thorough, closely in Mandarin
zǐxìTraditional: 仔細
Translation
careful, attentive, thorough, closely
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Word origin
A compound of 仔 (zǐ, small, minute) and 细 (xì, fine, thin), so attending to the fine detail.
- Origin
- compound
- Root
- 仔 (zǐ, minute) + 细 (xì, fine)
Stroke order
仔
细
Examples
图。
Please look at this picture closely.
。
He is very thorough in what he does.
。
I thought it over carefully all night.
。
Go through it carefully once more.
。
She listened closely to every word.
仔细 (zǐ xì) is careful in the sense of thorough and attentive to detail: reading closely, checking properly, listening hard. As an adverb it goes straight in front of the verb, with 地 (de) optional, so both 仔细看 (zǐ xì kàn) and 仔细地看 (zǐ xì de kàn) are natural.
It is not the same careful as 小心 (xiǎo xīn). 小心 (xiǎo xīn) is careful about danger, which is why signs say 小心地滑 (xiǎo xīn dì huá), mind the slippery floor. You would never write 仔细地滑 there. Roughly: 小心 (xiǎo xīn) is cautious, 仔细 (zǐ xì) is meticulous.
The near neighbour is 认真 (rèn zhēn), serious and conscientious. 认真 (rèn zhēn) describes the attitude someone brings, 仔细 (zǐ xì) describes how finely they are looking. A student can be 很认真 (hěn rèn zhēn) and still miss things because they were not 仔细 (zǐ xì).
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Mandarin · Free printables
仔细: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "仔细" (careful, attentive, thorough, closely): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
This word is taught in chapter 24, lesson 8: 仔细, 半, 票 and 7 more words.