再次
zàicì · HSK 5
again
🔁 再 = again + 次 = time/occurrence; literally 'again-time'
再 means 'again/once more' and 次 is a measure word for occurrences or times. Stacked together, 再次 emphasizes 'one more time' or 'a second occurrence' — more formal than 再 alone.
再 — top 一 + 冂 frame + 土-like inner strokes
再 originally depicted a stack of fish or piled objects, suggesting accumulation or repetition. Over time it came to mean 'again' or 'once more,' emphasizing a second occurrence of an action. The modern form is stylized and no longer clearly pictographic.
次 — 冫 ice + 欠 yawn/lack
Originally depicted a person (欠) sighing or hesitating, with 二 (later written 冫) marking repetition or a secondary position. The core sense developed from 'second in order' or 'next' into related meanings like 'sequence,' 'time/occurrence,' and 'inferior quality.'