how to use zhi1 (之）

[shakingcrane]

Hi

I hope someone can help me to understand how to use (zhi1,之）

and what does it mean

Thank you all

[skylee]

This might help ->

http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/cgi-bin/agrep-lindict?query=%A4%A7&category=wholerecord&boo=or&order=all

[florazheng]

I go to Chinese dictionary for it. There are many entries for Zhi

1. to: 由京之沪　from Beijin to Shanghai

2. pronoun: as an objective only

eg. 言之有理 say it reasonable

3. auxiliary:

to modify the last word:

eg.无价之宝=无价的宝贝＝难以估算价值的宝贝

4. meaningless but to balance to phrase

eg.　久而久之

．．．．．

Hope this helps...

[Guest IVYtony]

to: 由京之沪　from Beijin to Shanghai

this kind of usage '之' was predominantly used in ancient written Chinese, very rare in modern Chinese though.

'之' is commonly used as pronoun, sometimes used as auxiliary,

examples:

1.as what you said, 言之有理, is used as pronoun, 之means the content of speech

2. 九牛二虎之力，here it means '的', auxiliary?

[Jose]

之 is a word which is extensively used in classical Chinese. The previous posts have already given you information about all the different meanings it can have.

Now the problem for us intermediate learners of Chinese is how to actually use it in the modern language.

My impression is that the word is used mainly in idioms and collocations that have a classical or pseudo-classical flavour. As a learner, I usually avoid using it, but it is good to know at least its main meaning, as a classical equivalent of 的. Armed with this knowledge, you can understand why the "Silk Road" is rendered as 絲綢之路, or why names of wars and battles are often ...之戰. However, I don't think we learners should attempt to use it as an elegant replacement for 的. That is dangerous ground. Only in certain cases can you freely interchange 的 and 之. My advice is that we'd better use it only in expressions that have become idiomatic through frequent use.

This meaning of 之 also explains the logic behind the expressions 之後 (after), 之前 (before), 之下 (under), 之上 (above), 之間 (between, among), and 之中 (amid), which are quite common. This 之 can be replaced with 以 in the first four cases: 以後, 以前, 以下, 以上 (though I'm not sure if they are 100% interchangeable).

Another case where 之 is still used in modern Chinese is to express numerical fractions. For example:

3/5 (three-fifths) = 五分之三

A particular case of this latter usage is for percentages:

5% = 百分之五

And also to say "one of", as in:

他是中國最著名的演員之一 = He is one of the most famous actors in China

Another classical use of the word that occasionally crops up in the modern language is as an objective 3rd person pronoun ("it", "him", "her"). That meaning explains why 總之 (or 總而言之) means "to sum (it) up", "in short". Again, knowing this meaning of the word helps us to understand certain idiomatic fossilised expressions, but we shouldn't use 之 for "it", "him" or "her" after any verb. Not in modern Chinese, anyway.