侍 meaning and stroke order
To serve, to attend upon; servant, attendant; samurai
How to write 侍, stroke by stroke
8 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 侍
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to serve
- to attend upon
How 侍 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Person.
亻 gives the meaning and 寺 hints at the sound.
Radical: 亻 (man), shared by 277 characters on this site.
How to remember 侍
A person 亻 standing beside a temple 寺 (sì) is there to serve and attend. The person part gives the meaning, and 寺 hints at the sound shì.
侍 rarely appears alone in modern Chinese. It shows up in words like 服侍 (fúshi, to care for), 侍候 (shìhòu, to wait on) and 侍者 (shìzhě, attendant). Example: 她每天服侍生病的母亲。(Tā měitiān fúshi shēngbìng de mǔqīn.) She takes care of her sick mother every day.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 侍 with 待 (dài, to wait, to treat), which has 彳 instead of 亻 on the left. Also note that in 服侍 the 侍 is usually read in the neutral tone, fúshi.
Common words with 侍
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 侍候 | shìhòu | to serve; to wait upon | HSK 7-9 |
| 服侍 | fúshi | to attend to; to care for (patients etc) | |
| 侍奉 | shìfèng | to wait upon; to serve | |
| 侍者 | shìzhě | attendant; waiter | |
| 侍卫 | shìwèi | Imperial bodyguard | |
| 侍从 | shìcóng | to serve (an important personage); attendant; retainer | |
| 侍女 | shìnǚ | maid | |
| 侍应 | shìyìng | waiter; waitress (abbr. for 侍應生|侍应生[shi4 ying4 sheng1]) |
侍 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 侍
How many strokes are in 侍?
侍 is written with 8 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 侍 mean?
侍 (shì) means to serve, to attend upon; servant, attendant; samurai. A common word with it is 侍候 (shìhòu), meaning "to serve; to wait upon".
How do you pronounce 侍?
侍 is pronounced shì, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 侍?
The radical of 侍 is 亻, which carries the idea of "man". Dictionaries list 侍 under this radical.
Is 侍 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 侍 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Does 侍 mean samurai in Chinese?
Not usually. Samurai is a Japanese sense of the character. In Chinese the samurai is normally called 武士 (wǔshì).
Can I call a waiter 侍者 in a restaurant?
侍者 sounds formal or literary. In daily speech people say 服务员 (fúwùyuán) to call a waiter.