嘶
Character Story & Explanation
嘶 is commonly used in modern Chinese to describe strained, hoarse, or piercing vocalizations — especially in literature and film subtitles. You’ll find it in phrases like 嘶哑 (sīyǎ, 'hoarse'), 嘶鸣 (sīmíng, 'shrill cry', often of horses or cranes), and the idiom 鬼哭狼嚎，马嘶人喊 (guǐ kū láng háo, mǎ sī rén hǎn — 'ghosts wail, wolves howl, horses neigh, people shout'), evoking battlefield chaos. It appears in classical poetry too, such as Du Fu’s Tang-dynasty lines referencing war-horse cries.
The character’s form is not pictographic; it’s a later-developed phono-semantic compound (c. Han dynasty onwards). Its right side 斯 was borrowed for sound, not imagery. In daily life, Chinese speakers use 嘶 most often in descriptive writing — e.g., a tired singer’s 'sīyǎ de shēngyīn' (hoarse voice) — or in onomatopoeic exclamations mimicking sharp, rasping sounds.
Hi students! Today we’re learning 嘶 (sī), a vivid sound-character meaning 'hiss' — like a snake’s sharp, sibilant sound or a horse’s strained, breathy cry. It belongs to the 口 (kǒu, 'mouth') radical family, telling us immediately it’s related to vocalization or sound produced by the mouth or throat. Though not in the official HSK lists (so no assigned level yet), it appears in intermediate-level reading and literature, especially when describing intense, emotional, or animal sounds.
Notice its 15 strokes: start with the 口 on the left, then the right side 斯 (sī) — which is itself a phonetic component shared with words like 斯文 (sīwén, 'refined'). The character doesn’t mean 'refined', though — here, 斯 only hints at pronunciation. This is classic phono-semantic compounding: 口 gives meaning (sound), 斯 gives sound (sī). Great for building pattern recognition!
Don’t confuse 嘶 with similar-sounding characters like 思 (sī, 'to think') or 丝 (sī, 'silk') — they share the same pinyin but completely different radicals and meanings. Practice writing it slowly: first 口 (3 strokes), then the 12-stroke 斯. Say 'sī' firmly while writing — it helps anchor both sound and shape in your memory.
Example Sentences
Common Compounds
Similar Characters — Don't Mix These Up
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