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氏

Mandarin · pinyin shì#

(bound form) family name; surname (as in 王氏 Wáng shì "the Wang clan")
(bound form) maiden name; née (as in 李王氏 Lǐ Wáng shì "Mrs. Li, née Wang")
(bound form) honorific suffix added to the surname or full name of a notable person, esp. historical or scholarly figures

Mandarin · pinyin zhī#

used in 月氏 Yuè zhī
used in 閼氏 yān zhī

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Characters in this entry

氏: shì · clan, family; mister

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4 · shi4

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1character link96same-tone records

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 9 senses · 2 Cantonese readings

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

si6 · zi1

Cantonese word readings for 氏. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

character · Etymology 1

clan; family; lineage; hereditary house
surname
person with the surname of ...; Mr.
(historical) née; born as; maiden name
suffix to a personal proper noun for attribution (of a work, invention, discovery, etc.)
(Classical) suffix to a noun that refers to family membership (actual or honorary)

character · Etymology 2

(obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) used in 月氏 (yuèzhī, “Yuezhi”)
(obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) used in 閼氏／阏氏 (yānzhī, “wife of a Xiongnu chief”)

character · Etymology 3

(obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) only used in 狋氏 (“name of an ancient county”)

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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