巳 (sì) is a Chinese character meaning “the sixth of the twelve Earthly Branches”. It is written from ㇕ and 一 (one) and ㇉, and takes 3 strokes.
Build the character for “sixth earthly branch (9–11 a.m.)”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
㇕ + 一 + ㇉
Top–middle–bottom structure
Structure from: Unicode U+5DF3; modern stroke-level decomposition checked against hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 stroke geometry
Memory aid
㇕ turns down from the top, 一 closes the box, and ㇉ curves out below — a small sealed box with a tail.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
3 strokes
In real words
- 巳时sì shíthe hours from 9 to 11 a.m. (sixth double-hour)巳 = sì
Go deeper
All readings
sixth earthly branch
the sixth of the twelve Earthly Branches; the double-hour from 9 to 11 a.m.
地支的第六位；也指上午九点到十一点这段时间。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 巳时sì shíthe hours from 9 to 11 a.m. (sixth double-hour)巳 = sì
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 巳 mean?
巳 (sì) means the sixth of the twelve Earthly Branches; the double-hour from 9 to 11 a.m..
How do you pronounce 巳?
It is pronounced sì.
What parts is 巳 made of?
㇕ and 一 (one) and ㇉. The recorded source is: Unicode U+5DF3; modern stroke-level decomposition checked against hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 stroke geometry. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 巳 have?
3. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 巳?
巳. 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 巳?
Common ones are 巳时. The reading of 巳 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.