织 (zhī): to weave; to knit

Meanings

1 to weave; to knit
2 to organize (in compounds)

Characters

织

zhī

to weave; to knit

Examples

奶奶在织毛衣。

Nǎinai zài zhī máoyī.

Grandma is knitting a sweater.

她会织围巾。

Tā huì zhī wéijīn.

She knows how to knit a scarf.

蜘蛛在织网。

Zhīzhū zài zhī wǎng.

The spider is weaving a web.

这块布是手工编织的。

Zhèkuài bù shì shǒugōng biānzhī de.

This fabric is hand-woven.

Tips

usage

织 appears in many compounds: 编织 (to weave/knit), 纺织 (textile), 组织 (to organize/organization). The textile radical 纟 on the left connects to thread and fabric.

memory

纟(thread) + 只 (zhī, phonetic) — working with threads to create fabric.

Components

radical

纟 sī

silk thread (left-side form of 糸)

Silk radical — 纟 is the simplified left-side form of 糸, a picture of twisted silk strands. 织 is to weave, the prototypical thread-action, so the radical sits front and centre. Joins the textile family: 纺 (spin), 缝 (sew), 线 (thread), 红 (red, originally a dye-on-cloth term).

phonetic

只 zhī

only; one of (here phonetic)

Right component supplies the sound. The traditional was 織 with phonetic 戠 (zhī); the simplified swap to 只 keeps a similar zhī rime — modern 织 zhī. The choice was visual economy: 只 has five strokes versus 戠's thirteen. Same simplification logic appears in 识 (knowledge, also from 戠 to 只).