lián
noun #17,534

Meanings

  1. 1 curtain; screen; blind

Examples

HSK 3
Ménlián bèi fēng chuī qǐlái le.
The door curtain was blown up by the wind.
HSK 4
Qǐng bǎ chuānglián lāshàng.
Please close the curtains.

Tips

usage
appears in 窗帘 (window curtain), 门帘 (door curtain), and 帘子 (curtain/blind). Rarely used alone.

Components

radical
jīn
cloth
Bottom - pictograph of a hanging cloth, the indexing radical of even though it sits under . The compound ideograph reads 'cloth in an opening' - exactly a curtain. Same radical family: hat, cloth, sail - all pieces of fabric.
semantic
xué
cave; opening
Top - pictograph of a cave mouth or framed opening, here representing the window or doorway. It is not the indexing radical: contributes the picture of an aperture that needs covering, the architectural slot a curtain fits into.

Stroke Order

lián