ZHIZHI 知止 · LEARN CHINESE DAILY

to manage; company (in 公司)

5 strokes · 口 (mouth) under a commanding hand — giving orders · HSK 2

Where 司 comes from

司 shows a hand raised over a mouth: someone issuing commands. It's the mirror image of 后 (originally 'sovereign') — two officials facing opposite directions. To 司 something is to be in charge of it.

司 in Chinese culture

公司 'public management' is the modern word for company — the sign on every office tower. Old official titles kept 司 alive: 司机 'machine-manager' is your driver, and 司仪 runs the wedding as master of ceremonies.

Example

公司 gōngsī — company

我的公司离家很近。
Wǒ de gōngsī lí jiā hěn jìn.
My company is close to home.

How to remember it

A hand over a mouth giving orders — the one who MANAGES; two of them make a COMPANY.

司机 'one who manages the machine' meant locomotive engineers before cars existed — now every taxi driver inherits the title.

Same sound, different tones

1st sī
to manage
3rd sǐ
to die
4th sì
four

Words unlocked by 司

公司 gōngsī
company
司机 sījī
driver
大公司 dà gōngsī
big company

Related characters

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