侍 (shì) is a Chinese character meaning “to serve”. It is written from 亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 寺 (temple; (as a sound part) sì), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “to serve”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
亻 + 寺
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字: 侍，承也。从人寺聲
Memory aid
A person (亻) standing at the temple (寺), waiting to serve whoever comes.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 侍者shì zhěattendant; waiter侍 = shì
- 侍候shì hòuto wait upon; to look after (a person)侍 = shì
Go deeper
All readings
to serve
to serve; to wait upon; to attend on
在旁边照料、伺候；服侍。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 侍者shì zhěattendant; waiter侍 = shì
- 侍候shì hòuto wait upon; to look after (a person)侍 = shì
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 侍 mean?
侍 (shì) means to serve; to wait upon; to attend on.
How do you pronounce 侍?
It is pronounced shì.
What parts is 侍 made of?
亻 (person (the form 人 takes on the left)) and 寺 (temple; (as a sound part) sì), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 侍，承也。从人寺聲. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 侍 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 侍?
人. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 侍?
Common ones are 侍者 and 侍候. The reading of 侍 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.