伺

See also: 何 and 同

伺 U+4F3A, 伺 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-4F3A ← 伹 [U+4F39] CJK Unified Ideographs 伻 → [U+4F3B]

Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

伺 (Kangxi radical 9, 人+5, 7 strokes, cangjie input 人尸一口 (OSMR), four-corner 2722₀, composition ⿰亻司)

1. serve, wait upon, attend
2. examine

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 97, character 8
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 483
• Dae Jaweon: page 205, character 14
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 139, character 5
• Unihan data for U+4F3A

Chinese

simp. and trad.		伺

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 伺
Small seal script s05924 Transcribed ancient scripts L19232 L19233 L19234
References: Mostly from Richard Sears' Chinese Etymology site (authorisation), which in turn draws data from various collections of ancient forms of Chinese characters, including: Shuowen Jiezi (small seal), Jinwen Bian (bronze inscriptions), Liushutong (Liushutong characters) and Yinxu Jiaguwen Bian (oracle bone script).

Characters in the same phonetic series (司) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 

	Old Chinese
司	*slɯ
伺	*slɯ, *slɯs
覗	*slɯ, *slɯs
笥	*slɯ, *slɯs
詞	*ljɯ
祠	*ljɯ
柌	*ljɯ
嗣	*ljɯs
孠	*ljɯs
飼	*ljɯs
呞	*hljɯ

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, OC *slɯ, *slɯs): semantic 人 (“person, man”) + phonetic 司 (OC *slɯ) – a person stands beside (attends), looks in.

Pronunciation 1

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): sì (si⁴)

  (Zhuyin): ㄙˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): zi⁶ / si⁶
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): sù / sìr / sì

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: sì
    • Zhuyin: ㄙˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: sìh
    • Wade–Giles: ssŭ⁴
    • Yale: sz̀
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: syh
    • Palladius: сы (sy)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /sz̩⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: zi⁶ / si⁶
    • Yale: jih / sih
    • Cantonese Pinyin: dzi⁶ / si⁶
    • Guangdong Romanization: ji⁶ / xi⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡siː²²/, /siː²²/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sù
    • Tâi-lô: sù
    • Phofsit Daibuun: sux
    • IPA (Taipei): /su¹¹/
    • IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Kaohsiung): /su²¹/
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sìr
    • Tâi-lô: sìr
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /sɯ⁴¹/
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Zhangzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sì
    • Tâi-lô: sì
    • Phofsit Daibuun: six
    • IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou): /si²¹/

---

• Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 伺
Mandarin	Beijing	/t͡sʰz̩⁵¹/
	Harbin	/t͡sʰz̩⁵³/ ～候 /sz̩⁵³/ ～機
	Tianjin	/t͡sʰz̩⁵³/
	Jinan	/t͡sʰz̩²¹/
	Qingdao	/t͡sʰz̩⁴²/
	Zhengzhou	/t͡sʰz̩³¹²/
	Xi'an	/t͡sʰz̩⁴⁴/
	Xining	/sz̩⁴⁴/ /t͡sʰz̩²¹³/ ～新
	Yinchuan	/t͡sʰz̩¹³/
	Lanzhou	/t͡sʰz̩¹³/ ～候 /sz̩¹³/ 窺視
	Ürümqi	/t͡sʰz̩²¹³/
	Wuhan	/t͡sʰz̩³⁵/
	Chengdu	/sz̩¹³/ /t͡sʰz̩¹³/
	Guiyang	/sz̩²¹³/ /t͡sʰz̩²¹³/
	Kunming	/t͡sʰz̩²¹²/ ～候 /sz̩²¹²/ ～機
	Nanjing	/t͡sʰz̩⁴⁴/
	Hefei	/t͡sʰz̩⁵³/
Jin	Taiyuan	/t͡sʰz̩⁴⁵/
	Pingyao	/t͡sʰz̩³⁵/
	Hohhot	/t͡sʰz̩⁵⁵/
Wu	Shanghai	/zz̩²³/
	Suzhou	/zz̩³¹/
	Hangzhou	/sz̩⁴⁴⁵/
	Wenzhou	/zz̩²²/
Hui	Shexian	/t͡sʰz̩³²⁴/ /sz̩²²/
	Tunxi	/t͡sʰz̩⁴²/
Xiang	Changsha	/t͡sʰz̩⁵⁵/ ～候 /sz̩⁵⁵/ ～機
	Xiangtan	/sz̩⁵⁵/
Gan	Nanchang
Hakka	Meixian	/sz̩⁵³/
	Taoyuan	/sï⁵⁵/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/t͡si²²/
	Nanning	/t͡sʰz̩³³/
	Hong Kong	/t͡si²²/
Min	Xiamen (Hokkien)	/su²¹/
	Fuzhou (Eastern Min)	/søy²¹²/
	Jian'ou (Northern Min)	/su³³/
	Shantou (Teochew)	/sɯ³⁵/
	Haikou (Hainanese)	/si²³/

---

• Middle Chinese: siH, si

Rime
Character	伺	伺
Reading #	2/2	1/2
Initial (聲)	心 (16)	心 (16)
Final (韻)	之 (19)	之 (19)
Tone (調)	Departing (H)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open
Division (等)	III	III
Fanqie	相吏切	息兹切
Baxter	siH	si
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/sɨH/	/sɨ/
Pan Wuyun	/sɨH/	/sɨ/
Shao Rongfen	/sieH/	/sie/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/sɨH/	/sɨ/
Li Rong	/siəH/	/siə/
Wang Li	/sĭəH/	/sĭə/
Bernhard Karlgren	/siH/	/si/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	sì	sī
Expected Cantonese Reflex	si3	si1

• Old Chinese

  (Zhengzhang): /*slɯs/, /*slɯ/

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	伺	伺
Reading #	2/2	1/2
No.	11955	11952
Phonetic component	司	司
Rime group	之	之
Rime subdivision	0	0
Corresponding MC rime	笥	思
Old Chinese	/*slɯs/	/*slɯ/

Definitions

伺

1. to spy; to examine
2. to wait

Compounds

• 伏伺
• 伺便 (sìbiàn)
• 伺察
• 伺探
• 伺晨鳥 / 伺晨鸟
• 伺機 / 伺机 (sìjī)
• 伺機而動 / 伺机而动
• 伺隙
• 偵伺 / 侦伺 (zhēnsì)
• 守株伺兔
• 強敵環伺 / 强敌环伺
• 狙伺
• 環伺 / 环伺 (huánsì)
• 窺伺 / 窥伺 (kuīsì)
• 觀釁伺隙 / 观衅伺隙
• 詗伺 / 诇伺
• 鬼伺
• 黃雀伺蟬 / 黄雀伺蝉

Pronunciation 2

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): cì (ci⁴)

  (Zhuyin): ㄘˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): zi⁶ / si⁶
• Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): sù / sìr / sū

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: cì
    • Zhuyin: ㄘˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: cìh
    • Wade–Giles: tzʻŭ⁴
    • Yale: tsz̀
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tsyh
    • Palladius: цы (cy)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰz̩⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: zi⁶ / si⁶
    • Yale: jih / sih
    • Cantonese Pinyin: dzi⁶ / si⁶
    • Guangdong Romanization: ji⁶ / xi⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡siː²²/, /siː²²/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sù
    • Tâi-lô: sù
    • Phofsit Daibuun: sux
    • IPA (Taipei): /su¹¹/
    • IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Kaohsiung): /su²¹/
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sìr
    • Tâi-lô: sìr
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /sɯ⁴¹/
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Zhangzhou, variant in Taiwan)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: sū
    • Tâi-lô: sū
    • Phofsit Daibuun: su
    • IPA (Taipei, Kaohsiung): /su³³/
    • IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou): /su²²/

Note:

• Xiamen, Zhangzhou:
  • sù - literary;
  • sū - vernacular.

---

• Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 伺
Mandarin	Beijing	/t͡sʰz̩⁵¹/
	Harbin	/t͡sʰz̩⁵³/ ～候 /sz̩⁵³/ ～機
	Tianjin	/t͡sʰz̩⁵³/
	Jinan	/t͡sʰz̩²¹/
	Qingdao	/t͡sʰz̩⁴²/
	Zhengzhou	/t͡sʰz̩³¹²/
	Xi'an	/t͡sʰz̩⁴⁴/
	Xining	/sz̩⁴⁴/ /t͡sʰz̩²¹³/ ～新
	Yinchuan	/t͡sʰz̩¹³/
	Lanzhou	/t͡sʰz̩¹³/ ～候 /sz̩¹³/ 窺視
	Ürümqi	/t͡sʰz̩²¹³/
	Wuhan	/t͡sʰz̩³⁵/
	Chengdu	/sz̩¹³/ /t͡sʰz̩¹³/
	Guiyang	/sz̩²¹³/ /t͡sʰz̩²¹³/
	Kunming	/t͡sʰz̩²¹²/ ～候 /sz̩²¹²/ ～機
	Nanjing	/t͡sʰz̩⁴⁴/
	Hefei	/t͡sʰz̩⁵³/
Jin	Taiyuan	/t͡sʰz̩⁴⁵/
	Pingyao	/t͡sʰz̩³⁵/
	Hohhot	/t͡sʰz̩⁵⁵/
Wu	Shanghai	/zz̩²³/
	Suzhou	/zz̩³¹/
	Hangzhou	/sz̩⁴⁴⁵/
	Wenzhou	/zz̩²²/
Hui	Shexian	/t͡sʰz̩³²⁴/ /sz̩²²/
	Tunxi	/t͡sʰz̩⁴²/
Xiang	Changsha	/t͡sʰz̩⁵⁵/ ～候 /sz̩⁵⁵/ ～機
	Xiangtan	/sz̩⁵⁵/
Gan	Nanchang
Hakka	Meixian	/sz̩⁵³/
	Taoyuan	/sï⁵⁵/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/t͡si²²/
	Nanning	/t͡sʰz̩³³/
	Hong Kong	/t͡si²²/
Min	Xiamen (Hokkien)	/su²¹/
	Fuzhou (Eastern Min)	/søy²¹²/
	Jian'ou (Northern Min)	/su³³/
	Shantou (Teochew)	/sɯ³⁵/
	Haikou (Hainanese)	/si²³/

---

• Middle Chinese: siH

Rime
Character	伺
Reading #	2/2
Initial (聲)	心 (16)
Final (韻)	之 (19)
Tone (調)	Departing (H)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	相吏切
Baxter	siH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/sɨH/
Pan Wuyun	/sɨH/
Shao Rongfen	/sieH/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/sɨH/
Li Rong	/siəH/
Wang Li	/sĭəH/
Bernhard Karlgren	/siH/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	sì
Expected Cantonese Reflex	si3

• Old Chinese

  (Zhengzhang): /*slɯs/

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	伺
Reading #	2/2
No.	11955
Phonetic component	司
Rime group	之
Rime subdivision	0
Corresponding MC rime	笥
Old Chinese	/*slɯs/

Definitions

伺

1. only used in 伺候 (cìhou)