刺 (cì): thorn, sting, thrust, to prick, to pierce, to stab
刺 (cì) is a Chinese character meaning “thorn.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 朿 (phonetic) and 刂 (semantic). It ranks #1057 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 刺 knife. Its radical form 刂 (knife) appears in many related characters such as 分 (fēn, to divide), 别 (bié, to leave), 到 (dào, to reach).
Definitions
- thorn
- sting
- thrust
- to prick
- to pierce
- to stab
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 刺 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 刺
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 讽刺verb | fěng cì | to satirize |
| 刺伤 | cì shāng | to stab |
| 刺杀verb | cì shā | to assassinate |
| 刺客noun | cì kè | assassin |
| 冲刺verb | chōng cì | (sports) to sprint |
| 刺刀noun | cì dāo | bayonet |
| 刺绣verb | cì xiù | to embroider |
| 刺耳adjective | cì ěr | ear-piercing |
| 遇刺verb | yù cì | to be attacked by an assassin |
| 刺眼adjective | cì yǎn | to dazzle |
| 刺中 | cì zhòng | to hit with a piercing blow |
| 带刺 | dài cì | thorny |
| 穿刺verb | chuān cì | (medicine) to puncture |
| 刺骨adjective | cì gǔ | piercing |
| 刺探verb | cì tàn | to pry into |
刺 appears in 100 compound words: 49 as the first character, 35 as the last, and 16 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 刺 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (5)
Example Sentences
玫瑰虽然美丽，但茎上有刺，要小心。
Méigui suīrán měilì, dàn jīng shàng yǒu cì, yào xiǎoxīn.
Although roses are beautiful, their stems have thorns; be careful.
新春长假尾声至 内地客最后冲刺
xīn chūn cháng jiǎ wěi shēng zhì nèi dì kè zuì hòu chōng cì
The end of the Chinese New Year holiday is the last sprint of mainland guests
英超|北伦敦打吡阿仙奴作客4:1胜热刺 伊斯、约基尼斯梅开二度
yīng chāo běi lún dūn dǎ 吡 ā xiān nú zuò kè 4 : 1 shèng rè cì yī sī , yuē jī ní sī méi kāi èr dù
Premier League|North London Derby Arsenal beat Tottenham Hotspur 4:1 away from home Isis and Jokinis scored twice
英超|阿仙奴作客4:1胜热刺 伊斯及基奥基尼斯各入两球
yīng chāo ā xiān nú zuò kè 4 : 1 shèng rè cì yī sī jí jī ào jī ní sī gè rù liǎng qiú
Premier League | Arsenal beat Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 away to Isis and Keoginis scored two goals each
南通通州:新年“开机”赶订单 新产能冲刺新目标
nán tōng tōng zhōu : xīn nián kāi jī gǎn dìng dān xīn chǎn néng chōng cì xīn mù biāo
Nantong Tongzhou: New Year's "start-up" to catch up with orders New production capacity sprint to new goals
欧洲头条丨慕尼黑的沉默,比争吵更刺耳
ōu zhōu tóu tiáo 丨 mù ní hēi de chén mò , bǐ zhēng chǎo gēng cī ěr
European headlines丨Munich's silence, more harsh than the argument
车胎被钉子刺穿了。
Chētāi bèi dīngzi cìchuān le.
A nail penetrated the car tyre.
没有不带刺的玫瑰。
Méiyǒu bù dàicì de méiguī.
Every rose has its thorn.
我被鱼骨刺到了喉咙。
Wǒ bèi yúgǔ cì dào le hóulóng.
I got a fish bone stuck in my throat.
你不觉得这个名字很讽刺吗，「神圣的战争」？
Nǐ bù juéde zhège míngzi hěn fěngcì ma,「 shénshèng de zhànzhēng 」?
Don't you think the name "The Sacred War" sounds a bit sarcastic?
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 刂 (knife) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 刺 (cì) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 刺 and 策?
How many strokes does 刺 have?
What is the radical of 刺?
What are the components of 刺?
What are common words containing 刺?
What characters sound the same as 刺 (cì)?
Is 刺 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 刺 with real-time feedback
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