疵

cī
noun #71,552

Meanings

  1. 1 flaw
  2. 2 blemish; defect

Examples

HSK 6
Bié zǒng wèi xiǎoshì chuīmáo-qiúcī.
Don't always nitpick over trifles.
HSK 7-9
Zhè kuài yù yǒu yìdiǎn xiácī.
This jade has a tiny flaw.

Tips

usage
Common in 瑕疵 (flaw, defect) and the idiom 吹毛求疵 (to blow apart the fur to find a flaw - to nitpick). It means a small, minor imperfection, not a major fault.

Components

radical
疒 nè
sickness
The sickness radical 疒 wraps the top-left. A flaw is treated as a 'blemish/ailment' of an object - extending the illness radical metaphorically, like 病 (illness).
phonetic
此 cǐ
this
Inside sits 此 supplying the sound (cǐ shifting tone to cī). The same phonetic anchors 雌 (female) and 紫 (purple).

Stroke Order

疵 cī