司

Tap the pinyin to hear it

to take charge of; to manage; department (under a ministry)

Make a writing worksheet

HSK 3.0: Level 2
Old HSK: Level 2
Strokes: 5
Radical: 口 +2
Structure: Upper-right enclosure 右上包
Traditional: 司
Common rank: #381
Unicode: U+53F8

Sound it out + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

How 司 is formed

Ideographic compound (会意字)

A person speaking orders 口 and raising their arm

Components 口 ? unknown part

How to remember it

take charge of · Heisig RSH #1391

clothes hanger + 一 one + 口 mouth

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

Words with 司

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
中国长城工业公司	Zhōng guó Cháng chéng Gōng yè Gōng sī	China Great Wall Industry Corporation (CGWIC)
西门子公司	Xī mén zǐ Gōng sī	Siemens AG
阿尔斯通公司	Ā ěr sī tōng Gōng sī	Alstom (company name)
国有公司	guó yǒu gōng sī	state enterprise
国家电网公司	Guó jiā Diàn wǎng Gōng sī	State Grid Corporation of China
上市公司	shàng shì gōng sī	listed company
中国北方工业公司	Zhōng guó Běi fāng Gōng yè Gōng sī	China North Industries Corporation (Norinco)
多国公司	duō guó gōng sī	multinational corporation
中国电视公司	Zhōng guó Diàn shì Gōng sī	China Television Company (CTV), Taiwan
美国电话电报公司	Měi guó Diàn huà Diàn bào Gōng sī	AT&T
日本电报电话公司	Rì běn Diàn bào Diàn huà Gōng sī	Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT)
高通公司	Gāo tōng Gōng sī	Qualcomm
子公司	zǐ gōng sī	subsidiary company; subsidiary corporation
大公司	dà gōng sī	large company; corporation
公司三明治	gōng sī sān míng zhì	club sandwich
司马法	Sī mǎ Fǎ	“Methods of Sima”, also called “Sima Rangju’s Art of War”, one of the Seven Military Class…
中国航天工业公司	Zhōng guó Háng tiān Gōng yè Gōng sī	China Aerospace Corporation, forerunner of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporat…
中国石油天然气集团公司	Zhōng guó Shí yóu Tiān rán qì Jí tuán Gōng sī	China National Petroleum Corporation
分公司	fēn gōng sī	subsidiary company; branch office
司法人员	sī fǎ rén yuán	judicial officer

Sound family

These characters use 司 as their sound component — compare how they read.

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
司 sound part	sī	to take charge of, to control, to manage; officer
词	cí	phrase, expression; words, speech
饲	sì	to raise animals; to nourish, to feed
嗣	sì	to connect; to inherit; descendants, heirs
祠	cí	ancestral temple; to sacrifice
伺	sì	to serve, to wait upon, to attend; to examine
笥	sì	hamper, wicker basket