句子 (jù zi) means 'sentence' — a grammatically complete unit of language that expresses a thought, statement, question, or command. The first character 句 (jù) originally referred to a segment or clause in classical texts, while 子 (zi) is a common noun suffix that adds a sense of 'a small, discrete item'; together, they literally suggest 'a segmented linguistic unit.' In modern Chinese, 句子 is the standard, neutral term for any sentence — whether simple or complex — and appears frequently in language learning, grammar explanations, writing instruction, and everyday discussion about speech or text.

This word is used across contexts: teachers ask students to write sentences, editors correct sentence structure, and learners practice forming correct sentences using new vocabulary or grammar patterns. Unlike more literary or formal terms like 语句 (yǔjù) or 篇章 (piānzhāng), 句子 carries no stylistic weight — it’s appropriate in spoken and written Mandarin, from classroom drills to casual feedback like '这个句子不太自然' ('This sentence doesn’t sound natural').