嘶 meaning and stroke order
The neighing of a hoarse, gravel-voiced, hoarse
How to write 嘶, stroke by stroke
15 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 嘶
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- hiss
- neigh
- Ss! (sound of air sucked between the teeth, indicating hesitation or thinking over)
How 嘶 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Mouth.
口 gives the meaning and 斯 hints at the sound.
Radical: 口 (mouth), shared by 428 characters on this site.
How to remember 嘶
嘶 (sī) is a mouth 口 on the left plus 斯 (sī) on the right, which gives the sound. Picture a mouth making a rough sī sound, like a horse neighing or air hissing through teeth.
嘶 appears mostly in words for rough or animal sounds, such as 嘶哑 (sīyǎ, hoarse) and 马嘶 (mǎ sī, a horse neighs). It is also written as the sound 嘶 when someone sucks air through their teeth while thinking. Example: 他喊得嗓子都嘶哑了。(Tā hǎn de sǎngzi dōu sīyǎ le.) He shouted until his voice was hoarse.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes write 撕 (sī, to tear) instead of 嘶. They sound the same, but 撕 has the hand radical 扌 for tearing paper, while 嘶 has 口 for sounds made with the mouth.
嘶 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 嘶
How many strokes are in 嘶?
嘶 is written with 15 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 嘶 mean?
嘶 (sī) means the neighing of a hoarse, gravel-voiced, hoarse.
How do you pronounce 嘶?
嘶 is pronounced sī, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 嘶?
The radical of 嘶 is 口, which carries the idea of "mouth". Dictionaries list 嘶 under this radical.
What does 嘶 mean in a chat message?
In texts, 嘶 often stands for the sound of sucking air through the teeth. It shows the writer is hesitating, thinking hard, or reacting to something painful or awkward, a bit like "hmm" or "ooh" in English.
Is 嘶哑 the same as 沙哑?
Both mean hoarse. 嘶哑 often suggests a strained, broken voice from shouting or crying, while 沙哑 describes a rough, husky quality that can be more lasting or even pleasant.