之
zhī
Description
“之”是一个很常见的文言字，现在多用在书面语或成语里，比如“三分之一”。
"之" is a very common classical Chinese character, now mostly used in written language or idioms, such as "三分之一" (one third).
它有时候相当于口语里的“的”，表示“……的”。
Sometimes it corresponds to the spoken "的", indicating "... of".
Meanings
之zhī
possessive/attributive particle, like modern 的
这是我们学校之光。
This is the pride of our school.
之zhī
third-person object pronoun: him, her, it, them
取而代之。
Take its place.
分之fēn zhī
used to form fractions, as in X分之Y
三分之一是一小块。
One third is a small piece.
Related words
Notes
- Etymology
classical Chinese function word; survives mainly in fixed expressions and written style.
- Nuance
之 as 的 sounds formal or literary; use 的 in everyday speech.
In videos
“简单轻松快乐的中文学习之旅”
“海之霸，大排长龙，我一定是右眼过度了。”
“或是空之计划就直接讲了，对不对？”
“还有一个意外之喜”
Images