氏 (shì) is a Chinese character meaning “clan”. It is written from ㇒ (left-falling stroke) and ㇙ (vertical stroke that flicks up to the right at the bottom) and ㇐ (horizontal stroke) and ㇂ (slanted hook stroke), and takes 4 strokes.
Build the character for “clan; family name”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
㇒ + ㇙ + ㇐ + ㇂
Overlapping structure
- ㇒ left-falling stroke unknown
- ㇙ vertical stroke that flicks up to the right at the bottom unknown
- ㇐ horizontal stroke unknown
- ㇂ slanted hook stroke unknown
Structure from: Unicode U+6C0F and hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph inspection (four strokes: 撇 / 竖提 / 横 / 斜钩)
Memory aid
A short left-falling stroke (㇒) leans over the top like a nameplate. Below it a rising vertical (㇙) stands as the pole, one horizontal (㇐) crosses it as the crossbar, and a long slanted hook (㇂) sweeps out to the right — a family banner flying the clan name.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
4 strokes
In real words
- 姓氏xìng shìsurname; family name氏 = shì
- 氏族shì zúclan氏 = shì
Go deeper
All readings
clan; family name
clan; family name; used after a surname to refer to a family or a named person
家族；姓。也用在姓后面，指某个家族或某人。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 姓氏xìng shìsurname; family name氏 = shì
- 氏族shì zúclan氏 = shì
Rare readings, not taught: zhī
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 氏 mean?
氏 (shì) means clan; family name; used after a surname to refer to a family or a named person.
How do you pronounce 氏?
It is pronounced shì.
What parts is 氏 made of?
㇒ (left-falling stroke) and ㇙ (vertical stroke that flicks up to the right at the bottom) and ㇐ (horizontal stroke) and ㇂ (slanted hook stroke). The recorded source is: Unicode U+6C0F and hanzi-writer-data 2.0.1 modern glyph inspection (four strokes: 撇 / 竖提 / 横 / 斜钩). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 氏 have?
4. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 氏?
氏. 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 氏?
Common ones are 姓氏 and 氏族. The reading of 氏 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.