史 (shǐ): history, annals, title of an official historian in ancient China
史 (shǐ) is a Chinese character meaning “history.” Classified as HSK Level 3 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 口 (structural) and 乂 (structural). It ranks #456 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 史 a hand 乂 using a pen to record a history. Its radical form 口 (mouth) appears in many related characters such as 口 (kǒu, mouth), 叫 (jiào, to call, to be called), 右 (yòu, (bound form) right).
Definitions
- history
- annals
- title of an official historian in ancient China
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA hand 乂 using a pen to record a history
Decomposition: ⿻口乂 (layout: overlay)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 史 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 史
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 有史以来 | yǒu shǐ yǐ lái | since the beginning of history |
| 史蒂夫 | shǐ dì fū | Steve (male name) |
| 史密斯proper-noun | shǐ mì sī | Smith (name) |
| 病史noun | bìng shǐ | medical history |
| 史蒂文proper-noun | shǐ dì wén | Steven, Stephen (name) |
| 历史性noun | lì shǐ xìng | historic |
| 史无前例phrase | shǐ wú qián lì | (idiom) unprecedented in history |
| 罗曼史noun | luó màn shǐ | romance (loanword) |
| 史前noun | shǐ qián | prehistoric times |
| 史册noun | shǐ cè | annals |
| 史诗noun | shǐ shī | an epic |
| 历史学家noun | lì shǐ xué jiā | historian |
| 史努比proper-noun | shǐ nǔ bǐ | Snoopy (comic strip pet dog) |
| 史蒂文斯 | shǐ dì wén sī | Stephens |
| 编年史noun | biān nián shǐ | annals |
史 appears in 101 compound words: 38 as the first character, 50 as the last, and 12 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 史 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (12)
the An Lushan Rebellion (devastating rebellion against the Tang dynasty of China)
to take history as a mirror; to draw lessons from history; to look to the past for guidance; to learn from history
Example Sentences
这座城市有着悠久的历史，到处都是古迹。
Zhè zuò chéngshì yǒuzhe yōujiǔ de lìshǐ, dàochù dōu shì gǔjì.
This city has a long history, with historical sites everywhere.
.../美国队如何断加拿大连霸梦?三个维度解读史诗对决
. . . měi guó duì rú hé duàn jiā ná dà lián bà mèng ? sān gè wéi dù jiě dòu shǐ shī duì jué
.../How did the U.S. team break Canada's dream of winning back-to-back championships? Interpret the epic showdown in three dimensions
广东流行歌诞生前我们听甚么?中大教授翻查史料还原时代曲面貌
guǎng dōng liú háng gē dàn shēng qián wǒ men tīng shèn má ? zhōng dà jiào shòu fān chá shǐ liào hái yuán shí dài qū miàn mào
What did we listen to before the birth of Cantonese pop songs? CUHK professors check historical materials to restore the appearance of the times
...爱凌李方慧包揽冠亚军,中国体育代表团创历史
. . . ài líng lǐ fāng huì bāo lǎn guàn yà jūn , zhōng guó tǐ yù dài biǎo tuán chuàng lì shǐ
... Ailing Li Fanghui won the championship and runner-up, and the Chinese sports delegation made history
...26年世界知识产权报告:创新传播速度达历史新高
. . . nián shì jiè zhī shí chǎn quán bào gào chuàng xīn chuán bō sù dù dá lì shǐ xīn gāo
... ...World Intellectual Property Report '26: Diffusion of Innovations Reaches Record Rates
欧洲股市高开高走 多国股指刷新历史新高
ōu zhōu gǔ shì gāo kāi gāo zǒu duō guó gǔ zhǐ shuā xīn lì shǐ xīn gāo
European stocks opened higher and gained throughout the session, with indices in multiple countries hitting record highs.
史密斯夫妇现在分居了。
Shǐmìsī fūfù xiànzài fēnjū le.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith live apart from each other now.
史蒂夫和凯特去上学。
Shǐdìfū hé Kǎitè qù shàngxué.
Steve goes to school with Kate.
史密斯回答说，他很抱歉。
Shǐmìsī huídá shuō, tā hěn bàoqiàn.
Smith replied that he was sorry.
伊藤老师教历史学。
Yī téng lǎoshī jiāo lìshǐxué.
Mr Ito teaches history.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
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What characters sound the same as 史 (shǐ)?
Is 史 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 史 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.