粗 (cū): thick; wide (of something long)

Meanings

1 thick; wide (of something long)
2 coarse; rough; crude

Characters

粗

cū

thick; coarse

Examples

HSK 2

他的声音很粗。

Tā de shēngyīn hěn cū.

His voice is very rough.

HSK 4

这块布摸起来很粗。

Zhè kuài bù mō qǐlái hěn cū.

This fabric feels very coarse.

HSK 7-9

这根绳子太粗了。

Zhè gēn shéngzi tài cū le.

This rope is too thick.

Tips

usage

粗 is the opposite of 细 (thin/fine). They are a natural pair: 粗线 (thick line) vs 细线 (thin line), 粗心 (careless) vs 细心 (careful).

memory

The 米 (rice) radical hints at grain - coarse grain vs fine grain.

Components

radical

米 mǐ

rice; grain

Left indexing rice radical - the meaning anchor. Originally 粗 referred specifically to coarsely-milled rice, as opposed to finely-milled fine rice (精, 'refined'). The grain radical preserves this granular origin even as the meaning extended to anything thick or rough. Same family: 粒 (grain), 粉 (powder), 糖 (sugar), 粥 (porridge).

phonetic

且 qiě

moreover; pile up

Right component supplies the sound (qiě → cū, drifted but related in Old Chinese tsʰ-onset series). 且 historically pictured stacked altar plates, giving a faint image of 'piled, lumped together' - fitting for coarse, unrefined matter. Same phonetic family: 阻, 祖, 助, 组.