一丝

一絲

yīsī

measure word

Meanings

1 a trace of
2 a hint of
3 a thread/strand of

Characters

silk thread; tiny amount

Examples

他脸上没有一丝笑容。

Tā liǎn shàng méiyǒu yī sī xiàoróng.

There wasn't a hint of a smile on his face.

空气里有一丝凉意。

Kōngqì lǐ yǒu yī sī liángyì.

There's a trace of coolness in the air.

Tips

memory

丝 literally means 'silk thread' — the thinnest thing you can see. So 一丝 is 'as much as a silk thread', used almost exclusively for barely-there abstract qualities: a trace of hope, a hint of sadness, a whisper of wind. Often reinforced with 没有 or 不 for 'not even a trace'.

Stroke Order

一 yī

丝 sī