次 (cì) has two main uses: as a classifier for occurrences (e.g., 三次 'three times'), and as an adjective meaning 'next' in sequence (e.g., 下次 'next time'). As a classifier, it differs from 下 (xià), which counts the number of times an action is done (e.g., 打一下 'hit once'). As an adjective, 次 means 'next' in order, while 副 (fù) means 'deputy' in rank and 次要 (cì yào) means 'secondary' in importance.