次
cì
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
Ice (冫) + yawning/lacking (欠) = second, inferior, next in sequence
Ice (冫) is the lesser, secondary state of water — not the source, but what comes after and below. Yawning (欠) suggests incompleteness or falling short, reinforcing the sense of being second-rate or one step behind.
Words with 次
是次
shì cì
(formal) this time
次声波
cì shēng bō
infrasonic wave
次一个
cì yī gè
next one (in order)
次女
cì nǚ
second daughter
次要
cì yào
secondary
逐次
zhú cì
gradually
造次
zào cì
(literary) hurried
鄂霍次克海
è huò cì kè hǎi
Sea of Okhotsk
开三次方
kāi sān cì fāng
(math.) to extract a cube root
需求层次理论
xū qiú céng cì lǐ lùn
(Maslow's) hierarchy of needs (psychology)
顺次
shùn cì
in order
首次
shǒu cì
first