祠 (cí) — (bound form) ancestral temple, shrine

Definition

A bound form meaning 'ancestral temple or shrine' — always combined with 堂 to form 祠堂, or used in 宗祠. It does not stand alone as a common word.

bound form

ancestral templeshrine

Easily confused

。
Zhè ge cūn zi yǒu yí zuò gǔ lǎo de cí táng.
This village has an ancient ancestral hall.
祠。
Tā men měi nián dōu qù zōng cí jì zǔ.
They go to the clan temple every year to worship their ancestors.
。
cí Táng lǐ gòng fèng zhe lì dài zǔ xiān de pái wèi.
The ancestral hall houses the memorial tablets of past generations.

Sound + meaning

六书liùshū

形声xíngshēng

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

礻司祠

Meaning part形符xíngfú

礻Written in full as示shìdivinity

Sound part声符shēngfú

司

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 祠, the left part 礻 (written in full as 示) points to divinity, and the right part 司 gives the sound.