祠 (cí): shrine, to offer a sacrifice

祠 (cí) is a Chinese character meaning “shrine.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), with radical 礻 (spirit). It ranks #4508 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Native pronunciation

HSK 7-9 Radical: 礻 spirit9 strokesFrequency #4508

Definitions

shrine
to offer a sacrifice

Stroke Order

Practice writing 祠 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.

Words & Compounds

Common Compounds

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
祠堂	cí táng	ancestral hall
生祠	shēng cí	temple dedicated to sb still alive
神祠	shén cí	shrine
宗祠	zōng cí	ancestral temple
土谷祠	tǔ gǔ cí	temple dedicated to the local tutelary god 土地神[tu3 di4 shen2] and the god of cereals
屈原祠	qū yuán cí	Qu Yuan memorial temple on the Miluo river 汨羅江\|汨罗江 at Yueyang 岳陽市\|岳阳市, Hunan
祖祠	zǔ cí	shrine dedicated to one's ancestors
武侯祠	wǔ hóu cí	temple dedicated to the memory of Zhuge Liang 諸葛亮\|诸葛亮[Zhu1 ge3 Liang4] (There is one in Chengdu, and many others in v...
祠墓	cí mù	memorial hall and tomb
祠庙	cí miào	ancestral hall

Total compounds

As first character

As last character

As middle character

祠 appears in 10 compound words: 30 as the first character, 70 as the last, and 0 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.

Example Sentences

AI-Generated

学习祠字需要反复练习，才能写得工整。

xué xí cí zì xū yāo fǎn fù liàn xí , cái néng xiě dé gōng zhěng .

Learning to write the character "祠" requires repeated practice to ensure it is written neatly.

中国新闻网_梳理天下新闻Apr 2026

山西太原:千年晋祠话寒食文明祭祀寄哀思

shān xī tài yuán : qiān nián jìn cí huà hán shí wén míng jì sì jì āi sī

UdnnewsindexMar 2026

...纷纷挖土机超人林鸿森、北车英雄余家昶入祠

. . . fēn fēn wā tǔ jī chāo rén lín hóng sēn , běi chē yīng xióng yú jiā 昶 rù cí

Hk01.comFeb 2026

元宵好去处|黄大仙祠元宵晚会拜月老求良缘太空馆观罕见月全食

yuán xiāo hǎo qù chǔ huáng dà xiān cí yuán xiāo wǎn huì bài yuè lǎo qiú liáng yuán tài kōng guǎn guàn hǎn jiàn yuè quán shí

Vietnam+Feb 2026

探访宁平省广宫祠圣母柳杏像

tàn fǎng nìng píng shěng guǎng gōng cí shèng mǔ liǔ xìng xiàng

Character Family

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 祠 (cí) mean in Chinese?

祠 (cí) primarily means "shrine." It is classified as HSK Level 7-9, making it an expert-level character. It ranks #4508 in character frequency.

How many strokes does 祠 have?

祠 is written with 9 strokes. The correct stroke order matters for recognition and handwriting speed — practice with the animated guide above to build proper technique.

What is the radical of 祠?

The radical associated with 祠 is 礻 (spirit). This radical appears in many characters related to spirit.

What are common words containing 祠?

Common words with 祠 include: 祠堂 (cí táng, "ancestral hall"); 生祠 (shēng cí, "temple dedicated to sb still alive"); 神祠 (shén cí, "shrine"); 宗祠 (zōng cí, "ancestral temple"); 土谷祠 (tǔ gǔ cí, "temple dedicated to the local tutelary god 土地神[tu3 di4 shen2] and the god of cereals"). There are over 10 compound words containing this character.

Is 祠 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?

Yes, 祠 is written the same way in both simplified and traditional Chinese.

Practice writing 祠 with real-time feedback

Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.

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