藕断丝连 (ǒu duàn sī lián), literally "the root is broken but the fibers still connect," describes lingering ties between former lovers, from the sticky strands inside a lotus root.
Top grass radical in its three-stroke compressed form. The indexing radical for 藕, placing it among aquatic plants — lotus 莲, water-chestnut 荸, reed 苇. Lotus root is the underground stem of a botanical, so the grass cap fits cleanly.
Bottom 耦 carries the sound ǒu exactly. It originally meant 'two farmers plowing side by side,' and the pairing image is no accident here — lotus roots grow as linked segments, each chamber paired and threaded by sticky fibers. The 'pair, mate' sense lives on in 配偶.
