次 (cì) · time (occurrence)

Meanings

1 time (occurrence)
2 next; secondary

Characters

次

cì

time (occurrence); next; second

Examples

HSK 1

下次见！

Xiàcì jiàn!

See you next time!

HSK 1

这是我第一次来这里。

Zhè shì wǒ dìyī cì lái zhèlǐ.

This is my first time here.

HSK 2

我去过两次中国。

Wǒ qù guò liǎng cì Zhōngguó.

I've been to China twice.

Tips

grammar

次 is a measure word for the number of times something happens. It goes after the number: 一次 (once), 两次 (twice), 三次 (three times).

usage

下次 means 'next time,' 上次 means 'last time,' and 每次 means 'every time.'

Components

radical

欠 qiàn

to yawn; lack; owe

Right indexing radical 欠 - a person with mouth agape, originally 'yawning' or 'breathing out'. In 次 the yawning person waits for their turn - 'next in line'. Same radical drives 欢 (happy, open-mouth joy), 歌 (sing), 歇 (rest, take a breath). Combined with 冫 it gives 'second yawn = next time'.

semantic

冫 bīng

ice (two-drop radical)

Left side 冫 - two strokes that look like ice droplets, originally 二 (two) marking 'second, next'. In 次 it functions less as 'ice' than as a sequence-marker: one done, the next up. The 冫 shape is also a 1956-style smoothing of an older 二. Same shape in 冰 (ice), 冷 (cold), 冬 (winter).