You know, as in – pardon my pinyin – haizi (child), kuaizi (chopsticks), shiedzi (shoes), panzi (plate), wanzi (bowl), tuzi (rabbit), chedzi (car), etc.
They all use the same zi character, right? How come? My wife and several colleagues couldn’t answer that question. Can you?
Um, nuthin’. It just sort of makes the word ‘symmetrical’. Nouns need two syllables.
Think of it as a suffix that helps indicate something is a noun.
In English, we can sometimes go from an adj. to a noun (rich --> the rich) by adding a “the”. Chinese can do the same with some adjectives, like pang4 ‘fat’ -> pang4zi. So it’s a nominalizing suffix. It also helps pad words out to two syllables to make them easier to understand and to distinguish them from other words.
I’m sure more knowledgeable folks will be able to give a better answer than I, but I think Buttercup is pretty much right. As vocabulary has grown, many single syllable nouns need something to mark them, or else they just don’t get noticed as easily in spoken language. Zi is not the only marker. Northerners use -er instead, but it seems to serve the same function. Even relatively monosyllabic Cantonese uses these kind of endings, i.e. zai.
The modern preference for two syllable words over single syllables has also had an effect on writing. When I lived in Taiwan, it seemed that single syllables were ok in writing and actually preferred by some as a way of achieving brevity; HKers also like to use single syllables for many nouns. However, the mainland teachers I’ve had all wanted to see two syllables whenever possible. That seems to be the trend in Chinese teaching there.
I do wonder whether the zi suffix came about due to the relatively fewer number of tones in Mandarin when compared to other dialects. While Cantonese also has its own noun endings, I feel that it is not nearly as prevalent as Mandarin. Of course, I haven’t bothered to go and count them.
Some off-the-top-of-my-head examples where Mandarin ends in zi but Cantonese remains monosyllabic:
pan2zi (plate)
bei1zi (cup)
zhuo1zi (table)
yi3zi (chair)
xie2zi (shoes)
wa4zi (socks)
bei4zi (blanket)
mao4zi (hat)
For certain words it has a diminutive function, such as 新娘子.
[quote=“Dragonbones”]Think of it as a suffix that helps indicate something is a noun.
In English, we can sometimes go from an adj. to a noun (rich --> the rich) by adding a “the”. Chinese can do the same with some adjectives, like pang4 ‘fat’ -> pang4zi. So it’s a nominalizing suffix. It also helps pad words out to two syllables to make them easier to understand and to distinguish them from other words.[/quote]
Which brings to mind another question I’ve pondered lately: why are all, or almost all Chinese names two syllables? Has anyone ever met a Chinese person whose name was not? Why is that? Is it simply because over the past 5,000 years Chinese people have developed the notion that two syllables is more aesthically pleasing than one syllable or three?
Based on my limited knowledge of Chinese, it seems that many nouns ending in zi would otherwise be just one syllable, but I don’t believe that’s always the case (isn’t xie2zi 3 syllables?).
Are you talking about mainland Chinese, with a 1-char. surname plus a 1-char. personal name? Sure, there are exceptions; yes, I’ve met a few.
Are you talking about mainland Chinese, with a 1-char. surname plus a 1-char. personal name? Sure, there are exceptions; yes, I’ve met a few.[/quote]
No, I’m talking about Taiwan, with names like Chen Shui-Bian, Ma Ying-Jeou, and the like. Seems like all the given names in Taiwan are two syllables. And, I’m wondering if that’s part of the reason for adding zi to so many one syllable words – to make them “more aesthetically pleasing,” as buttercup said.
You mean a two character given name? There are a fair few famous Chinese and Taiwanese with one character given names.
Examples:
Li Ao (former writer, current crazed political fruitcake)
Li An (Ang Lee, Taiwanese film director)
Lu Xun (one of the 20th century’s most influential Chinese writers)
Yao Ming (Houston Rockets center)
Two character given names are the norm, but out of my last company rollcall of 300 there were 3 with single-character given names. As to being aesthetically pleasing, I couldn’t speak to that. 
There are plenty of Chinese with one-character names, especially in the mainland. I have known two people with three-character given names in Chinese; one was a member of the Dagur minority group, so her name is not of Chinese origin; the other was a Korean whose given name was 秀美愛 (Soomiae) - most Korean names are Chinese in origin.
There are also two-character surnames like 司馬 and 歐陽; these are usually combined with one-syllable given names, but sometimes with two-syllable ones.
Wow, being a Mandarin native speaker, i’ve never thought about this question.
I’ve just checked the dictionary form Minster of Education. It doesn’t explain why we use it as a suffix. But some explainations may work.
zi, can mean little kids. the descent of some animals, refer to common people, etc. As a adjective, it describe some young, small, little things.
So, each term you guys mentioned are due to different reasons.
I think the dictionary can explain
haizi (child),
tuzi (rabbit),
pang4 ‘fat’ -> pang4zi
新娘子.
The following, I think is just because the pronouciation.
pan2zi (plate), panzi (plate)
bei1zi (cup)
zhuo1zi (table)
yi3zi (chair)
xie2zi (shoes) ,shiedzi (shoes),
wa4zi (socks)
chedzi (car),
But one thing is sometimes we can ignore the Zi when you say those words above in the middle of the sentence, especially you list some of them at the same time.
Like there are plates, cups, tables and chairs. You say Na4 li3 yo3 bei, Pan2,(always in this order, cups go first) zhuo, yi3. Unless you want to emphasise and pause after you say each item.
If you say I’ll drive (a car) to the school. The car is in the middle. So you say Wo3 Yao4 kai “Che” qu4 xue2 xiao. If you say Chezi in this case, sounds not that good to me.
Put it on the table. Fang4 Zai4 Zhuo(zi) Shang4. Usually we don’t add Zi. But in this case, if you do, sounds ok to me.
The following words, I think always go with Zi.
mao4zi (hat)
kuaizi (chopsticks),
bei4zi (blanket)
To Mother Theresa, there is no “wanzi (bowl)” at all 
and all Zi here is not 3 tone, is light tone(i don’t know how to call it in English, somebody help me!)
Anyway, this is quite crazy, i think. 
On the name. In the past, each Chinese have more names than now.
When you were born, you are given a name(名Ming2), usually one syllable. When you grow up and go to school, your parents (usually is father) will give you another school name(學名Xue2 Ming2) for the teacher and classmates to call you in the school. And when you turn adult, the father will give you another Name, in chinese we call it ZI4字. This name sometimes has an additional meaning to the born given name. Then afterward, all people will only call you in this name to show the courtesy. And when you died, some famous people get a name from the authority to put on the gravestone, posthumous names(諡號Shi4 Hao4). The given name and adult name are the reason why names of people in chinese now called Ming2 Zi4 名字 not Ming2 Zi 名子.
The first given name will only used in the very formal document, like the list of exam result. It is usually one syllable. The adult name ZI4 is used more common and is usually two syllables.
As you can see, that is a really complicated system. So in modern society, we only get one name to avoid confusion. These remind me when I was little in the school, we always have to memorised those famous authors’ all names in the exams. And some authors also have nicknames by themselves or their friends.
Taiwanese prefer the system of ZI4. So we use two syllables. And i think Chinese in Mailand they prefer the born given one, so they use one syllable more popular.
Take the former Chairman of KMT Lien2 Zhan4 (連戰) for example.
He has a traditional given name, so one syllable. But his father did gave him a adult name. That is Yong3 Ping2 (永平)
The given name means war(戰), because he was born during the war. The adult name means peace forever. That is the hope of his father.
We say “neutral tone”.
You’re welcome!
It may also be that in the mainland, with the one-brat policy, there is no need to indicate “rank” within a large family of children? Just a guess.