How to Write 饲 (sì) — Meaning “to feed; to raise (animals)”

Imagine your manager (司) is in charge of food (饣), and they are feeding the animals. The left side 饣 looks like food packaging, and 司 can be remembered as "to manage"—so you manage food to feed animals. This visual link helps recall the meaning "to feed; to raise."

The radical 饣 (food) on the left is written with three strokes: a short left-falling stroke, a horizontal hook, and a vertical stroke, and its bottom should be slightly narrow. The right part 司 has a horizontal stroke that must not extend too far left, and the final vertical hook should align with the middle of the top horizontal. A common mistake is making the 饣 radical too wide or misplacing the right component's horizontal stroke.

饲 (sì, to feed) has the right side 司 (manager), while 饧 (xíng, malt sugar) has 刄 (a variant of 刃) on the right, and 饨 (tún, stuffed dumplings or wonton) has 屯 on the right. Visually, the right components look different: 司 has a square top with a mouth-like shape below, 刄 has a knife-like stroke, and 屯 has a zigzag bottom. Their meanings also differ—饲 is for feeding animals, 饧 is a type of sugar, and 饨 is a food made of dough with filling.

饲 is most commonly used in words related to animal husbandry, such as 饲养 (sì yǎng, to raise/breed animals) and 饲料 (sì liào, animal feed). It is not used for feeding people—for humans you would use 喂 (wèi). In Chinese culture, 饲养 often appears in discussions about farming, pet care, or zoos, and the character carries a sense of systematic care and provision for animals.

Common words containing 饲 include: 饲养 (sì yǎng) — to raise; to breed (animals); 饲料 (sì liào) — animal feed; fodder; 喂饲 (wèi sì) — to feed (livestock).