次 (cì) — time; occurrence; order

次 (cì)

次 is the measure word for occurrences or instances of an action — equivalent to "time" as in "three times." It differs from 遍 (biàn), which emphasizes completing the full course of an action, while 次 simply counts how many times something happened.

Meanings

1. [measure word] Time; occurrence. Counts how many times an action takes place.
2. [noun/adjective] Order; sequence; second (in rank). Used in compounds like 次序 (order) and 其次 (secondly).

Example Sentences

我去过北京两次。 Wǒ qùguò Běijīng liǎng cì. I have been to Beijing twice.

请再说一次。 Qǐng zài shuō yī cì. Please say it one more time.

这部电影我看了三次。 Zhè bù diànyǐng wǒ kàn le sān cì. I have watched this movie three times.

每次考试他都考得很好。 Měi cì kǎoshì tā dōu kǎo de hěn hǎo. Every time there is an exam, he does very well.

Collocations

Memory Hook

次 contains 冫 (ice/water) on the left and 欠 (lack/yawn) on the right. Think of counting waves — each wave that washes up is one 次, one occurrence rolling in after another.