则
(literary) (conjunction used to express contrast with a previous clause) but; then; (bound form) standard; norm; (bound form) principle; (literary) to imitate; to follow; classifier for written items
6 strokes
Dict coverage rank #1,014 U+5219
How 则 is formed
Ideographic compound (会意字)
Laws inscribed 刂 on a slate 贝
How to remember it
rule · Heisig RSH #88
clam + saber
Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.
Characters built with 则 as their sound component
These characters all use 则 (zé) as their phonetic component — compare how they read:
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 则 sound component | zé | rule, law, regulation; grades |
| 测 | cè | to survey, to measure; to estimate, to conjecture |
| 侧 | cè | side; to slant, to lean, to incline |
| 厕 | cè | toilet, washroom; to mingle |
| 恻 | cè | anguished; sympathetic |
| 鲗 | zéi | cuttlefish |
Words containing 则
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 一中原则 | yī zhōng yuán zé | One-China principle, the official doctrine that Taiwan is a province of China |
| 会计准则理事会 | kuài jì zhǔn zé lǐ shì huì | accounting standards council |
| 不规则三角形 | bù guī zé sān jiǎo xíng | scalene triangle (math.) |
| 理则学 | lǐ zé xué | logic |
| 正则表达式 | zhèng zé biǎo dá shì | regular expression (computing) |
| 基本原则 | jī běn yuán zé | fundamental doctrine; guiding principle; raison d'être |
| 以身作则 | yǐ shēn zuò zé | to set an example (idiom); to serve as a model |
| 处事原则 | chǔ shì yuán zé | a maxim; one's principles |
| 三人行，则必有我师 | sān rén xíng , zé bì yǒu wǒ shī | If three walk together, one of them can teach me sth (Confucius) |
| 无原则 | wú yuán zé | unprincipled |
| 不规则四边形 | bù guī zé sì biān xíng | irregular quadrilateral; trapezium |
| 原则性 | yuán zé xìng | principled |
| 原则上 | yuán zé shang | in principle; generally |
| 处世原则 | chǔ shì yuán zé | a maxim; one's principles |
| 武则天 | Wǔ Zé tiān | Wu Zetian (624-705), Tang empress, reigned 690-705 |
| 和平共处五项原则 | hé píng gòng chǔ wǔ xiàng yuán zé | Zhou Enlai's Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence; 1954 Panchsheel series of agreements… |
| 学如逆水行舟，不进则退 | xué rú nì shuǐ xíng zhōu , bù jìn zé tuì | study is like rowing upstream – if you don't keep pushing forward, you fall behind |
| 水至清则无鱼，人至察则无徒 | shuǐ zhì qīng zé wú yú , rén zhì chá zé wú tú | (saying) water that is too clear has no fish, and one who is too severe has no friends |
| 罗必达法则 | Luó bì dá fǎ zé | L'Hôpital's rule (math.) (Tw) |
| 行为准则 | xíng wéi zhǔn zé | code of conduct; standard of conduct |