詞 meaning and stroke order
Phrase, expression; words, speech
How to write 詞, stroke by stroke
12 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 詞
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- word
- statement; speech; lyrics
- a form of lyric poetry, flourishing in the Song dynasty 宋朝[Song4 chao2] (CL:首[shou3])
How 詞 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Words.
言 gives the meaning and 司 hints at the sound.
Radical: 言 (words), shared by 155 characters on this site.
How to remember 詞
詞 is built from 言 (yán, speech) on the left and 司 (sī) on the right, which gives the sound. Picture speech 言 that is put in order and managed, and you get words.
詞 is the traditional form of 词, and it appears in many everyday words like 生詞 (shēngcí, new word), 歌詞 (gēcí, lyrics) and 詞典 (cídiǎn, dictionary). It also names a type of Song dynasty lyric poetry, counted with 首 (shǒu). Example: 這首歌的歌詞很美。(Zhè shǒu gē de gēcí hěn měi.) The lyrics of this song are beautiful.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 詞 (cí) with 祠 (cí, ancestral temple) or 伺 (sì/cì). They share the 司 part, but only 詞 has the speech radical 言. Also keep the second tone in cí, and do not read it as sī like its phonetic part 司.
Common words with 詞
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 詞語 | cíyǔ | word (general term including monosyllables through to short phrases); term (e.g. technical | HSK 2 |
| 詞典 | cídiǎn | dictionary | HSK 2 |
| 生詞 | shēngcí | new word (in textbook); word that is unfamiliar or not yet studied | HSK 2 |
| 詞彙 | cíhuì | vocabulary; list of words (e.g. for language teaching purposes) | HSK 4 |
| 歌詞 | gēcí | song lyric; lyrics | HSK 6 |
| 證詞 | zhèngcí | testimony | |
| 臺詞 | táicí | an actor's lines; dialogue; Taiwanese word | |
| 單詞 | dāncí | word | |
| 供詞 | gòngcí | confession; statement; Taiwan pr. [gong1ci2] | |
| 用詞 | yòngcí | usage (of a term); wording | |
| 名詞 | míngcí | (linguistics) noun; term (name for a concept) | |
| 陳詞濫調 | chéncílàndiào | cliché; commonplace | |
| 悼詞 | dàocí | memorial speech; eulogy | |
| 陳詞 | chéncí | (formal) to state one's views (esp. in court); stale rhetoric; clichéd remarks |
Questions about 詞
How many strokes are in 詞?
詞 is written with 12 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 詞 mean?
詞 (cí) means phrase, expression; words, speech. A common word with it is 词语 (cíyǔ), meaning "word (general term including monosyllables through to short phrases); term (e.g. technical".
How do you pronounce 詞?
詞 is pronounced cí, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 詞?
The radical of 詞 is 言, which carries the idea of "words". Dictionaries list 詞 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 詞?
詞 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 词, used in mainland China and Singapore.
What is the difference between 詞 (cí) and 字 (zì)?
字 (zì) is a single written character, while 詞 (cí) is a word, which can be one or more characters. For example, 電腦 (diànnǎo, computer) is two 字 but one 詞.
What is a 詞 in Chinese poetry?
A 詞 is a form of lyric poetry that flourished in the Song dynasty 宋朝 (Sòngcháo). Poems were written to fit existing tunes, so line lengths vary, unlike the even lines of earlier 詩 (shī) poetry.