Chinese symbol for “intellectual”
知识分子
zhī shi fèn zǐ
Traditional: 知識分子
intellectual; intelligentsia
The closest CC-CEDICT match for intellectual is 知识分子 (zhī shi fèn zǐ), defined as: intellectual; intelligentsia.
Before using these characters for a tattoo, check them with a native speaker. Dictionary words often have several meanings, and the right choice depends on context.
Characters and stroke order
Traditional forms
Other Chinese words for “intellectual”
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 知识 (知識) | zhī shi | knowledge; 门 (mén) |
| 读书人 (讀書人) | dú shū rén | scholar; intellectual |
| 斯文 | sī wén | refined; educate |
| 书生 (書生) | shū shēng | scholar; intellectual |
| 智识 (智識) | zhì shí | knowledge; learning; (attributive) intellectual |
Related words
Other words that share a character with 知识分子.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 知道 | zhī dào | to know; to become aware of; also pr. [zhi1dao5] |
| 知识 (知識) | zhī shi | knowledge; 门 (mén) |
| 通知 | tōng zhī | to notify; to inform |
| 不知 | bù zhī | not to know; unaware |
| 知名 | zhī míng | well-known; famous |
| 得知 | dé zhī | to find out; to learn of |
| 认识 (認識) | rèn shi | to know; to recognize |
| 意识 (意識) | yì shí | consciousness; awareness; (usu. followed by 到 (dào)) to be aware of; to realize |
| 部分 | bù fen | part; portion; piece; Taiwan pr. [bu4fen4] |
| 孩子 | hái zi | child |
See also: Japanese symbol for “intellectual”.
Data: CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0); Unihan Database (Unicode License v3); Make Me a Hanzi (Arphic Public License (graphics.txt); LGPL-3.0-or-later (dictionary.txt)); wordfreq (CC BY-SA 4.0 (data)). Retrieved 2026-10-22.