细 (xì) · thin; slender; fine

Meanings

1 thin; slender; fine
2 delicate; detailed; careful

Characters

细

xì

thin; fine; detailed

Examples

HSK 1

你要细想一下。

Nǐ yào xì xiǎng yíxià.

You should think about it carefully.

HSK 5

她的头发又黑又细。

Tā de tóufa yòu hēi yòu xì.

Her hair is both black and fine.

HSK 6

这条线太细了。

Zhè tiáo xiàn tài xì le.

This thread is too thin.

Tips

usage

细 is the opposite of 粗 (thick; coarse). 细心 = careful (fine-hearted), 粗心 = careless (coarse-hearted).

Components

radical

纟 sī

silk thread (radical form)

Left silk radical, the side-form of 糸. Marks 细 as a thread/fabric character: silk fibres are the prototypical fine thing - long, slender, delicate. The same radical anchors 红 (red), 线 (thread), 纸 (paper), 织 (weave).

phonetic

田 tián

field (graphic only)

Right side looks like 田 but is graphically derived from 囟 (fontanelle/skull) in the traditional 細, where 囟 supplied the sound. PRC simplification flattened 囟 into the more familiar 田 shape. The 'field' meaning plays no role; this is a sound carrier whose original phonetic was the soft head-crown of an infant.