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伺

sì / cì
verb #38,196

Meanings

  1. 1 to watch; to observe
  2. 2 to spy on
  3. 3 to lie in wait for

Examples

他在伺机行动。
Tā zài sìjī xíngdòng.
He was watching for an opportunity to act.
猫蹲在那里窥伺小鸟。
Māo dūn zài nàlǐ kuīsì xiǎoniǎo.
The cat crouched, spying on the bird.

Tips

mistakes
Two readings. As 伺 (sì) it means to watch or spy, as in 伺机 (watch for a chance) and 窥伺 (spy on). But in the everyday word 伺候 (to wait on, serve) it is read cì.

Components

radical
亻 dānrénpáng
person
The side-person radical 亻 (a compressed 人, person) signals a human action here: watching, spying, or attending on someone.
phonetic
司 sī
to manage; take charge
司 (sī, to manage) supplies the sound, lightly shifted to sì. It also adds a faint flavor of overseeing or keeping watch, which matches the meaning.

Stroke Order

伺 sì