氏 (shì): clan name

Meanings

1 clan name
2 family name
3 née
4 courtesy title after a surname

Characters

氏

shì

clan; family name

Examples

HSK 7-9

张氏是一个大家族。

Zhāng shì shì yī gè dà jiāzú.

The Zhang clan is a large family.

HSK 7-9

摄氏度是温度单位。

Shèshìdù shì wēndù dānwèi.

Celsius is a unit of temperature.

Tips

usage

氏 is placed after a surname to indicate a clan or lineage, especially in historical or formal contexts. In modern Chinese, it appears in compound words like 摄氏 (Celsius) and 姓氏 (surname).

Components

pictograph

氏 shì

clan; lineage

Self-component pictograph. The exact origin is debated: some readings show an object propped at an angle (a marker pole or banner staking out a clan's territory), others see a kneeling figure. The character was borrowed early in oracle bone script to write "clan, lineage" and the née marker after surnames (王氏 née Wang). Itself Kangxi radical #83.

Radical

Clan Kangxi #83

Originally a pictograph of an object propped up - borrowed early to write 'clan, lineage, surname'. As a Kangxi radical it hosts only a handful of characters, the most common being 民 (people / common folk) and 氐 (a star name / a southern tribe). The standalone meaning dominates modern usage.