厮 (sī) · fellow, dude, so-and-so

Meanings

1 fellow
2 dude
3 so-and-so
4 male servant

Characters

厮

sī

fellow; servant

Examples

HSK 1

那厮是谁？

Nà sī shì shéi?

Who is that guy?

HSK 7-9

这厮太不像话了。

Zhèsī tài búxiànghuà le.

This fellow is absolutely outrageous.

Tips

register

厮 is a classical/literary word rarely used alone. Most commonly seen in 这厮 (this fellow) or 那厮 (that fellow) with a derogatory or rough tone, and in 厮杀 (to fight fiercely).

Components

radical

厂 chǎng

cliff; shelter

Cliff radical wrapping the top-left - a sheltering overhang of rock, often standing for a workshop or stable carved into a hillside. The indexing element. Originally 厮 named a servant who tended horses or chopped wood under such a shelter; the radical preserves the menial-workplace flavour.

phonetic

斯 sī

this

Inside 斯 supplies the sound - sī matches the parent reading with no drift. 斯 originally depicted a basket (其) being split with an axe (斤), meaning 'to split open.' Same phonetic appears in 撕 (tear) and 嘶 (neigh). For 厮 the splitting flavour suits well: a stable-hand whose job involved splitting firewood beneath the shelter.