司 meaning and stroke order
To take charge of, to control, to manage; officer
How to write 司, stroke by stroke
5 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Meaning of 司
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to take charge of
- to manage
- department (under a ministry)
How 司 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. A person speaking orders 口 and raising their arm.
Radical: 口 (mouth), shared by 428 characters on this site.
How to remember 司
Picture a boss with one arm raised over a mouth 口, shouting orders. The person giving commands is the one who takes charge, which is what 司 (sī) means.
司 rarely stands alone in modern speech. It mostly appears in words like 公司 (gōngsī, company), 司机 (sījī, driver) and 上司 (shàngsi, boss). Example: 我在一家公司工作。 (Wǒ zài yì jiā gōngsī gōngzuò.) I work at a company.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 司 with 同 (tóng, same), since both have 口 inside a frame. 司 opens to the left with a hook on the right, while 同 is a full frame open at the bottom.
Common words with 司
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 公司 | gōngsī | company; firm; corporation | HSK 2 |
| 司机 | sījī | chauffeur; driver | HSK 2 |
| 寿司 | shòusī | sushi | HSK 5 |
| 官司 | guānsi | lawsuit | HSK 6 |
| 打官司 | dǎ guānsi | to file a lawsuit; to sue | HSK 6 |
| 司长 | sīzhǎng | bureau chief | HSK 6 |
| 上司 | shàngsi | boss; superior | HSK 7-9 |
| 司令 | sīlìng | commanding officer | HSK 7-9 |
| 司法 | sīfǎ | judicial; (administration of) justice | HSK 7-9 |
| 司空见惯 | sīkōng-jiànguàn | a common occurrence (idiom) | HSK 7-9 |
| 司令官 | sīlìngguān | commander; officer in charge | |
| 司令部 | sīlìngbù | headquarters; military command center | |
| 航空公司 | hángkōnggōngsī | airline | |
| 祭司 | jìsī | priest |
司 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 司
Learning 司 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 司
How many strokes are in 司?
司 is written with 5 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 司 mean?
司 (sī) means to take charge of, to control, to manage; officer. A common word with it is 公司 (gōngsī), meaning "company; firm; corporation".
How do you pronounce 司?
司 is pronounced sī, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 司?
The radical of 司 is 口, which carries the idea of "mouth". Dictionaries list 司 under this radical.
Is 司 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 司 is part of the HSK 2 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 2.
Why is 司 pronounced without a tone in 官司 and 上司?
In 官司 (guānsi) and 上司 (shàngsi), 司 is often read in the neutral tone in everyday speech. In most other words, such as 公司 (gōngsī) and 司机 (sījī), it keeps its first tone.
Why does the word for sushi contain 司?
寿司 (shòusī) is a sound-based borrowing of the Japanese word sushi. Here 司 is used for its sound, not for its meaning of managing.