Zi:自
自 [zì] (自己 zìjǐ) self; 自由 freedom; 自从 since, from (来自 ‘come from’); 自然 zìrán nature; (radical 132, 自部); (HDZ:) 鼻; 始, 开头; (代词) 自己, 本身; …
One monosyllabic entry in The ABC Chinese-English Comprehensive Dictionary (namespace Ci):
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Old forms of the character 自(𦣹𦣼) zì depicted the nose (bridge and and two lines for the nostrils). In Chinese culture one points to one's nose to indicate oneself (and hence the meaning 自 zì ‘self’).
“(Breath:) self; personally; by itself, naturally; (pass out:) out from, from ...picture of the nose in a human face (and means ‘nose’ e.g. in 鼻); breath > self, cf. Sanskrit atman- ‘breath’ and ‘self’; in compounds often contracted into 白, e.g. 皇, 習” —Karlgren.
The modern word for ‘nose’ is 鼻 bí, which has 自 above, and 畀(畁) bì (phonetic) below.
Note that 自 is also a component in 息 xī ‘breath’, 臭 xiù ‘smell’, 咱(朁) zán ‘we’, etc.
Compare: 首(𩠐) shǒu ‘hairy head’, 𦣻 shǒu ‘head’ (old form).
HDZ: 自 : zì : 鼻; 始, 开头; (代词) 自己, 本身; 用; (副词) (本是, 本来; 另自; 自然; 仍旧); (介词) 从, 由; (连词) (因为; 如, 若; 虽, 即使; 却, 可是)
►references: Guǎngyùn:355.48; Wieger:159a; Henshall:134; Karlgren:AD1091,GSR1237m; Hànyǔ Dà Zìdiǎn:5.3046.1; Lindqvist:33; Mathews:6960; Kāngxī Zìdiǎn:1000.07; Bǐshùn Guīfàn:031.0.01; Wáng(1993):12; EDOC:1
►components: 丿目
►Cantonese: jih-
<cdl char='自' uni='81EA' points='24,0 104,124'>
<stroke type='p' points='64,0 30,34' />
<comp char='目' uni='76EE' points='0,34 128,128' />
</cdl>
<cdl char='目' uni='76EE' points='22,4 106,124'>
<comp char='冂' uni='5182' variant='5' points='0,0 128,128' />
<comp char='二' uni='4E8C' variant='5' points='0,44 128,82' />
<stroke type='h' points='0,128 128,128' head='cut' tail='cut' />
</cdl>
<cdl char='冂' uni='5182' variant='5' points='4,4 124,128'>
<stroke type='s' points='0,0 0,128' tail='long' />
<stroke type='hz' points='0,0 128,0 128,128' head='cut' tail='long' />
<!-- variant based on [U+EF7E](V=0) -->
</cdl>
<cdl char='二' uni='4E8C' variant='5' points='0,4 128,124' radical='K0'>
<stroke type='h' points='0,0 128,0' head='cut' tail='cut' />
<stroke type='h' points='0,128 128,128' head='cut' tail='cut' />
<!-- variant based on [U+EF79](V=0) -->
</cdl>
►stroke 自 (... strokes)
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Unicode: U+81EA
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