How to Write 祠 (cí) — Meaning “Ancestral hall; shrine”

Picture a manager (司, pronounced like "see") standing at an altar (礻) to oversee family rituals. You can remember: "I see (司) the spirit altar (礻) in the ancestral hall." This connects the sound and meaning of the right side to the structure of a shrine.

First write the radical 礻: dot, horizontal stroke, vertical, dot - note the left side is narrow and has only one dot at the bottom. Then write 司 from top left: horizontal stroke, left-falling hook, horizontal, vertical, horizontal. A common mistake is confusing 礻 with the clothing radical 衤, but 礻 has only one dot below the first horizontal stroke.

祠 means "ancestral hall" and focuses on the building for family worship. 社 means "society" or "earth god shrine" and is used for community or nature spirits, as in 社会 (shèhuì, society). 祀 means "to sacrifice" or "ritual offering" and is a verb, not a building, seen in 祭祀 (jìsì, to offer sacrifices).

祠 appears mostly in formal or traditional contexts, like names of old family temples or historical sites, such as 祠堂 (cítáng, ancestral hall). It is not common in daily conversation but is important when studying Chinese culture, as these halls were central to ancestor worship. Many rural villages still maintain 祠堂 for festivals and family gatherings.

Common words containing 祠 include: 祠堂 (cí táng) — Ancestral hall; 宗祠 (zōng cí) — Ancestral hall; 祖祠 (zǔ cí) — ancestral hall; ancestral shrine.