氏 shì clan
clan; family
How it came to be
象形 · Pictogram
A drawing of the thing it means.
Readings of the oldest form differ; in bronze a dot was added on the long stroke, and it later became the flat stroke across it.
用法
- 'Clan name, surname': 姓氏 (xìngshì) = surname/family name.
- Used after a surname to refer to a family or a married woman: 张氏 (Zhāng shì) the Zhang family / Mrs. née Zhang.
- Also names measurement scales after their inventors: 摄氏 (shèshì) Celsius, 华氏 (huáshì) Fahrenheit.