氏 meaning and stroke order
Clan, family; maiden name
How to write 氏, stroke by stroke
4 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
Meaning of 氏
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (bound form) family name; surname (as in 王氏[Wang2 shi4] "the Wang clan")
- (bound form) maiden name; née (as in 李王氏[Li3 Wang2 shi4] "Mrs. Li, née Wang")
- (bound form) honorific suffix added to the surname or full name of a notable person, esp. historical or scholarly figures
- used in 月氏[Yue4 zhi1]
- used in 閼氏|阏氏[yan1 zhi1]
How 氏 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. A person bowing down.
How to remember 氏
The etymology hint shows 氏 as a person bowing down. Picture someone bowing before the elders of their family, showing respect to the clan whose name they carry.
氏 is a bound form, so it attaches to other words rather than standing alone. It follows a surname to mean a clan or a historical woman's maiden name, and it appears in words like 姓氏 (xìngshì) and 摄氏度 (shèshìdù). Example: 今天三十摄氏度。(Jīntiān sānshí shèshìdù.) It is 30 degrees Celsius today.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 氏 with 民 (mín, people) and 低 (dī, low), which contains 氐. 氐 has an extra dot at the bottom, while 氏 does not. Also remember that 氏 cannot replace 姓 (xìng) in everyday speech, so say 我姓王, not 我氏王.
Common words with 氏
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
氏 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 氏
Learning 氏 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 氏
How many strokes are in 氏?
氏 is written with 4 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 氏 mean?
氏 (shì) means clan, family; maiden name. A common word with it is 姓氏 (xìngshì), meaning "family name".
How do you pronounce 氏?
氏 is pronounced shì, in the fourth tone (falling).
Is 氏 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 氏 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Why does Celsius use 氏 in 摄氏度?
摄 comes from a short Chinese rendering of the name Celsius, and 氏 is the honorific suffix for a notable person. So 摄氏 roughly means Mr. Celsius, and 度 means degrees. Fahrenheit works the same way: 华氏度 (huáshìdù).
When is 氏 pronounced zhī instead of shì?
Only in a few old names. These are 月氏 (Yuèzhī), an ancient Central Asian people, and 阏氏 (yānzhī), the title of a Xiongnu queen. In all other words it is shì.