纵

縱
zòng
adjective #13,429

Meanings

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

Examples

HSK 5
Zòngrán kùnnan zài duō, wǒmen yě yào jiānchí xiàqu.
Even if the difficulties are great, we have to keep going.
HSK 6
Zhè zuò chéngshì de dàolù zònghéng-jiāocuò.
The roads in this city crisscross each other.

Tips

memory
纟 (silk) + 从 (follow) - threads running vertically.

Components

radical
纟 sī
silk; thread (left-side)
Silk radical on the left - left-side form of 糸 - marks 纵 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), 经 (warp), 维 (rope).
phonetic
从 cóng
follow; from
从 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 丛 (thicket) and 怂 (urge).

Stroke Order

纵 zòng