侧

側
cè
#1,218 most
frequent character
side, incline, lean
noun
verb

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

侧 has 亻 person as a picture part and 则 zé as the sound part. It first meant beside something, then grew to leaning and to a side. The reading zhāi has the same starting sense, with leaning or slanting.

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Example Sentences

这座山的侧面非常陡峭。
zhè zuò shān de cèmiàn fēicháng dǒuqiào 。
The side of this mountain is very steep.
请把椅子靠在墙的侧面。
qǐng bǎ yǐzǐ kàozài qiáng de cèmiàn 。
Please lean the chair against the side of the wall.
他侧着身体，仔细听那边的声音。
tā cè zháo shēntǐ ， zīxìtīng nàbiān de shēngyīn 。
He leaned to the side to listen carefully to the sound over there.

Same Characters, Different Readings

侧zhāi
lean on one side

Words with similar meanings

边biān
edge, border
While '边' refers specifically to the edge or border of something, it can be used interchangeably in contexts where '侧' indicates a side position.
旁páng
beside, near
'旁' generally refers to being next to or beside something and can be used similarly to '侧' in certain contexts.

Homophones

HSK 5
册cè
book, booklet, classifier for books
测cè
survey, fathom, measure, conjecture
策cè
policy, plan, scheme

Words Starting With 侧

侧面cè miàn
lateral side; side; aspect; profile

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