How to Write 佽 (cì) — Meaning “to help; to assist”

Think of a person (亻) standing next to a line of people (次, like a queue) and offering help to each one in order. Visualize someone saying "I'm next (次) to help (佽) you" to remember the connection.

The left radical 亻must be written narrow and tall, taking up about one-third of the character width. A common mistake is making the 次 part too wide or forgetting that the second stroke of 次 (a horizontal line) should be slightly shorter than the first horizontal stroke of the left-hand component.

佽 (cì) means 'to help/assist', while 仰 (yǎng) means 'to look up' or 'to admire' and 仲 (zhòng) means 'middle' or 'second (in rank)'. Visually, 佽 has 次 on the right, 仰 has 卩 (seal) on the right, and 仲 has 中 (center) on the right, so focus on the different right-side components to tell them apart.

佽 is not common in everyday modern Chinese but appears in classical and literary contexts. The word 佽飞 (cì fēi) refers to ancient imperial bodyguards known for bravery, and 佽助 (cì zhù) is a formal way to say 'to provide assistance'. You might encounter it in historical texts or formal writing.

Common words containing 佽 include: 佽助 (cì zhù) — to help; to assist; 佽飞 (cì fēi) — ancient brave warrior; imperial bodyguard; 佽给 (cì gěi) — to provide; to supply.