次

Core senses include:

1. Spatial/Concrete: A stopover, waypoint, or temporary lodging.

2. Ordinal/Sequential: The second position (immediately following the first) or a general system of sequence and progression.

3. Qualitative/Hierarchical: Secondary, subordinate, or inferior.

• Noun: A place of lodging; a rank or specific order.
• Adjective/Modifier: Qualifying something as "next," "secondary," or "minor."
• Adverbial: Signaling "subsequently" or "nextly" in narrative sequences.
• Measure Word (Classifier): Used to count occurrences, times, or occasions. This usage is more characteristic of later texts.

A critical distinction exists between simple sequence and hierarchy; 次 often denotes not just a position in a list, but a lower rank or diminished quality relative to the primary (首) or initial (初).

Determine if the context is spatial (a stopover), sequential (the next item), or evaluative (something of lesser importance). Note the common semantic slide from "second in line" to "inferior in quality." In very early passages, translators should consider if the glyph refers to order rather than frequency before applying it as a measure word.