绵 (mián): soft; downy; silky

Meanings

1 soft; downy; silky
2 continuous; unbroken
3 weak; mild-mannered
4 silk floss; cotton wadding

Characters

绵

mián

silk floss; soft; continuous

Examples

HSK 5

这块面包又软又绵。

Zhè kuài miànbāo yòu ruǎn yòu mián.

This piece of bread is soft and fluffy.

HSK 6

他性格绵软，从不与人争。

Tā xìnggé miánruǎn, cóngbù yǔ rén zhēng.

He is mild-mannered and never fights with anyone.

HSK 7-9

山脉绵延数百公里。

Shānmài miányán shùbǎi gōnglǐ.

The mountain range stretches unbroken for hundreds of kilometers.

Tips

usage

Mostly bound - almost always seen in compounds: 绵延 (stretch on and on), 绵密 (meticulous), 绵软 (soft and mild), 绵羊 (sheep), 海绵 (sponge). The 纟 (silk) radical hints at the original meaning of 'silk floss'.

memory

Picture pulled silk floss: 'soft', 'continuous', and 'weak/yielding' all flow from that one image.

Components

radical

纟 sī

silk (radical form of 糸)

Left silk radical - three-stroke side-form of 糸, a tied bundle of silk threads. As the indexing radical it places 绵 in the textile family with 纺 to spin, 织 to weave, 线 thread. Silk floss and cotton wadding are both soft fibrous fillings - literal semantic work.

semantic

帛 bó

silk cloth

Right 帛 - 白 over 巾, picturing a piece of plain white woven cloth. Pairs with the silk radical: threads spun and woven into soft continuous fabric - the source of 绵's 'soft, downy, unbroken' senses. The continuity image feeds 绵延 stretching unbroken and 绵绵 endless.