zòng
adjective/verb/conjunction #13,429

Meanings

  1. 1 vertical
  2. 2 to release
  3. 3 even if

Examples

Zònghéng
vertical and horizontal; in all directions
Cāozòng
to manipulate; to control

Tips

memory
(silk) + (follow) — threads running vertically

Components

radical
silk; thread (left-side)
Silk radical on the left — left-side form of — marks as a thread-related word. The original sense was loose threads or ropes, hence to release or let go. Vertical extends from the same imagery: long threads hanging down. Same radical drives 线 (line), (warp), (rope).
phonetic
cóng
follow; from
supplies the sound — cóng → zòng — through a sibilant shift, and contributes a faint sense of sequence: vertical lines follow one another in succession. Same phonetic series produces (cóng, thicket) and (sǒng, urge).

Stroke Order

zòng