How to Write 祀 (sì) — Meaning “To offer sacrifices / To worship”

Imagine a person kneeling like the shape of 巳 in front of an altar (礻) to offer a sacrifice. This picture of a worshipper bowing helps link the visual form to the meaning. Another trick is to think of a snake (巳) being placed on the altar as an offering.

Write the left radical 礻 first: dot, horizontal, left-falling, vertical. Then the right part 巳 in three strokes: horizontal fold, horizontal, vertical hook. A common mistake is confusing 巳 with 已 (yǐ) or 己 (jǐ); remember that 巳 has a closed top and a bottom hook that curves to the right.

祀 uses the right component 巳, while 礼 has 乙 (a simple hook) and 社 has 土 (earth). Visually, the right side of 祀 is a coiled shape with a vertical hook, whereas 礼's right side is a single curved stroke. In meaning, 祀 specifically refers to sacrificial offerings, 礼 to general rituals or etiquette, and 社 to community or earth gods.

祀 appears in formal or literary phrases about traditional worship, like 祭祀 (jì sì, offering sacrifices to ancestors) and 祀堂 (sì táng, ancestral hall). It is commonly used during festivals such as Qingming or in temple ceremonies. Though not in common daily speech, this character carries deep cultural significance in Chinese ancestral and religious traditions.

Common words containing 祀 include: 祭祀 (jì sì) — To offer sacrifices to gods or ancestors; 祀堂 (sì táng) — Ancestral hall / Shrine; 奉祀 (fèng sì) — to offer sacrifices to / to worship.