How to write 词 (cí, “word”)
词 (cí), an HSK 2 character, means “word”, “statement” and “a form of lyric poetry”. The traditional form is 詞, 12 strokes instead of 7. On its own it is an HSK 2 word; it also forms 词典 (“dictionary”), 词语 (“word”) and 歌词 (“song lyric”). Japanese keeps the traditional 詞, read shi (“part of speech”).
- Pinyin
- cí
- Strokes
- 7
- HSK
- 2
- Radical
- 讠 (“speech”)
- Traditional
- 詞
Stroke by stroke
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
As a left-right character it splits into 讠 (“speech”, the radical), strokes 1–2; 司 (“to take charge of”), strokes 3–7, written the left part first.
- top leftdown and right
- leftrightwards → downwards → up and right
- toprightwards → downwards
- toprightwards
- centerdownwards
- centerrightwards → down and left
- centerrightwards
Traditional form
- Simplified
- 词 · 7 strokes
- Traditional
- 詞 · 12 strokes · see its strokes
Trace it
Follow the numbers. Tracing help
Pinyin and meaning
| Pinyin | Meanings | Traditional | In words |
|---|---|---|---|
| cí second tone | word; statement; speech; lyrics; a form of lyric poetry, flourishing in the Song dynasty 宋朝 (Sòngcháo) | 詞 | 词典 词语 歌词 词汇 |
- HSK 2025 syllabus
- level 2
- 2021 standard
- level 2
- HSK 2.0
- in a level 3 word
- Words with it
- 251 in CC-CEDICT
Words with 词
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 词 詞 | cí | word; statement HSK 2 |
| 词典 詞典 | cídiǎn | dictionary HSK 3 |
| 词语 詞語 | cíyǔ | word (general term including monosyllables through to short phrases)… HSK 4 |
| 歌词 歌詞 | gēcí | song lyric; lyrics HSK 5 |
| 词汇 詞彙 | cíhuì | vocabulary; list of words HSK 5 |
| 诗词 詩詞 | shīcí | verse HSK 6 |
| 分词 分詞 | fēncí | participle; word segmentation |
| 名词 名詞 | míngcí | (linguistics) noun; term (name for a concept) |
| 唱词 唱詞 | chàngcí | libretto; lyrics |
| 字词 字詞 | zìcí | letters or words; words or phrase |
HSK words first (CC-CEDICT).
Practice sheet
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HSK 2, in list order: