嗣 (sì) — (literary morpheme) to succeed, to inherit; heir, descendant
Definition
Literary bound morpheme for inheriting or succeeding (a title, throne, estate) and for the heir/descendant who does so. It never stands alone — always part of a compound like 后嗣, 嗣子, or 嗣位.
bound form
(literary morpheme) to succeedto inheritheirdescendant
Examples
- ，。Tā jiā méi yǒu hòu sì, jiā chǎn jiù juān gěi le cí shàn jī gòu.His family had no descendants, so the estate was donated to charity.
- 嗣，。Zuò wéi wéi yī de yí gè sì zǐ, tā cóng xiǎo jiù jiān fù zhe jì chéng jiā yè de shǐ mìng.As the only heir, he bore the mission of inheriting the family business from a young age.
- 嗣，。Xīn huáng dì sì wèi hòu, lì jí bān bù le yí xì liè gǎi gé fǎ lìng.After the new emperor succeeded to the throne, he immediately issued a series of reform decrees.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
The 口 (mouth) and 冊 (document) in 嗣 show appointing a successor by speech and documents, while 司 gives the sound.
Appears in
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