纲 (gāng): guiding principle

Meanings

1 guiding principle
2 outline

Characters

纲

gāng

guiding principle; main rope of a net

Examples

HSK 4

这份纲领规定了未来的方向。

Zhè fèn gānglǐng guīdìng le wèilái de fāngxiàng.

The guiding principles laid out the party's program.

HSK 4

写文章之前先列一个提纲。

Xiě wénzhāng zhīqián xiān liè yī gè tígāng.

Before writing the essay, list out an outline first.

Tips

memory

纟 (silk) + 冈 (ridge) - the main rope of a net.

Components

radical

纟 sī

silk thread (radical form of 糸)

The silk-thread radical on the left places 纲 in the thread-and-cord family - 线 thread, 绳 rope, 网 net. Originally 纲 named the main cord of a fishing net, the thick rope that holds everything together. From there it generalised to "guiding principle" - the rope that organises the whole.

phonetic

冈 gāng

ridge; hill

冈 supplies the sound gāng unchanged. Its picture - a mountain ridge - adds a faint semantic echo: a ridge is a long firm line running across terrain, much like the main cord running through a net. Same phonetic in 钢 steel, 刚 just-now (firm), 岗 sentry post.