氏

shì
#1,498 most
frequent character
clan name, maiden name

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

氏 is a picture of a mallet-shaped object. That was its first meaning. 'Clan name' was borrowed for its sound, and from there it grew to family name or surname.

Drawn as: mallet-shaped object

氏 as a component in other characters

sound5 characters
纸舐芪祇哌
picture1 character
氐
empty1 character
氐

Ask DeepSeek

Same Characters, Different Readings

氏zhī
see 月氏[Yue4 zhi1] and 閼氏|阏氏[yan1 zhi1]

Homophones

HSK 4
试shì
to test, to try, experiment
事shì
thing
市shì
city
室shì
room
式shì
type, style, pattern, form, ceremony
示shì
to show, to reveal

Your word lists

Sign in to add this word to your private lists.