Ci is composed according to each tune that had the different form; for example, in "Okukonan (Recalling the south of the Chang Jiang River) " the number of characters in each line is determined as 3,5,7,7, and 5 characters, and the 2nd, 4th, and 5th lines should be rhymed.
詞調に合わせて詞が作られるが、詞調ごとに形式が決められており、例えば「憶江南」では、句の字数が3・5・7・7・5、押韻が2・4・5句目と決められている。