How to Write 咝 (sī) — Meaning “hiss; sizzle (onomatopoeia)”

Imagine a snake hissing by opening its mouth (口) while its body moves like a thin silk thread (丝). The snake makes the sound "sī," which matches the pinyin. This visual link helps you remember both form and meaning.

Keep the left 口 small and positioned high, as it is a phonetic component. The right part 丝 has five strokes, and you must balance its two halves — the upper silk threads and the lower part — to avoid making the character look lopsided. A common mistake is making 口 too large, which throws off the proportion.

咝 (sī) means a hissing sound and uses 丝 on the right. 吁 can be pronounced xū (sigh) or yù (appeal) and uses 于, which looks different. 吂 (máng, meaning old or ignorant) uses 亡 on the right, giving it a very different shape and no sound relation. So the right-side component is the key visual clue.

咝 is an onomatopoeia for sharp, continuous sounds like a snake hissing or food sizzling in oil. It often appears in descriptive phrases such as 咝咝 (sī sī, a continuous hiss) or 咝的一声 (sī de yī shēng, with a sudden hiss). It is not common in daily conversation but is used in writing and storytelling for vivid sound effects.

Common words containing 咝 include: 咝咝 (sī sī) — hissing; sizzling sound; 咝的一声 (sī de yī shēng) — with a hiss; 抽咝 (chōu sī) — to draw in breath through teeth.