次 - Dong Chinese dictionary

cì

second, next

The 二 (two) component represents the meaning "second" and also indicates the sound. The 欠 (deficient) represents the meaning "secondary" or "substandard".

Components

二 Sound Meaning component

èr

two

次 and 二 don't sound similar in modern Mandarin due to historical phonetic changes. They were more similar in older Chinese.次 /*[s-n̥]i[j]-s/, /*[s-n̥]i[j]-s/
二 /*ni[j]-s/

欠 Meaning component

qiàn

yawn, deficient

Alludes to the meaning "second-class" or "inferior".

Evolution

Oracle script

(~1250-1000 BC)

Bronze script

Early Western Zhou (~1000 BC)

Seal script

Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical script

Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Regular script

Modern

Definitions

次

cì

order, sequence; next; next in sequence; second; the second (day, time etc); secondary; vice-; sub-; infra-; inferior quality; substandard; order; sequence; hypo- (chemistry); classifier for enumerated events: time

Most common words with 次