司 (sī) is a Chinese character meaning “to take charge of”. It is written from ㇆ (horizontal-turning hook stroke) and 一 (one) and 口 (mouth), one enclosing the other, and takes 5 strokes.
Build the character for “to take charge of”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
㇆ + 一 + 口
Enclosing structure
Structure from: hanzi-writer-data 笔画核对（现代字形拆分）
Memory aid
A hook stroke (㇆) wraps the top and right like an office wall. Inside it, one line (一) is written above a mouth (口): one order comes down, the mouth passes it on — that is what it means to take charge.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
5 strokes
In real words
- 公司gōng sīcompany司 = sī
- 司机sī jīdriver司 = sī
Go deeper
All readings
to take charge of
to take charge of; to manage; an office or department in charge of something
主管、掌管；也指办理某类事务的机构。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 公司gōng sīcompany司 = sī
- 司机sī jīdriver司 = sī
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 司 mean?
司 (sī) means to take charge of; to manage; an office or department in charge of something.
How do you pronounce 司?
It is pronounced sī.
What parts is 司 made of?
㇆ (horizontal-turning hook stroke) and 一 (one) and 口 (mouth), one enclosing the other. The recorded source is: hanzi-writer-data 笔画核对（现代字形拆分）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 司 have?
5. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 司?
口. 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 司?
Common ones are 公司 and 司机. The reading of 司 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.