糸 (mì) · fine silk thread, Kangxi silk radical (#120)

Meanings

1 fine silk thread
2 Kangxi silk radical (#120)

Characters

糸

mì

fine silk thread

Examples

HSK 7-9

古书中常以糸表示细丝。

Gǔshū zhōng cháng yǐ mì biǎoshì xì sī.

In classical texts 糸 is often used to mean fine silk thread.

HSK 7-9

糸字旁的字大多与丝织有关。

Mì zì páng de zì dàduō yǔ sīzhī yǒuguān.

Characters with the silk radical mostly relate to silk and weaving.

Tips

usage

糸 is rarely written as a standalone word. In simplified Chinese it survives almost entirely as the left-side radical 纟 (jiǎosīpáng), driving compounds like 红, 线, 经, 纸, 织, 给, 绿. The full 糸 form is kept on the bottom of characters such as 系, 紧, 素.

history

Pictograph of a small bundle of silk threads tied at top and bottom. The radical doubles as 纟 in simplified shapes; in traditional shapes both halves of doubled-thread characters (絲) keep the full form.

Components

pictograph

糸 mì

fine silk; thread

糸 is itself a Kangxi radical and the ancestor of 纟. The oracle-bone form depicts a small bundled skein of fine silk thread, with the loop on top and the cord-ends dangling below. It indexes hundreds of textile and binding chars from 红 to 系.

Radical

Silk Kangxi #120

One of the most productive radicals in the script. Tags everything related to silk, threads, ropes, weaving, and by extension organising or binding. In simplified Chinese it almost always appears as the left-side variant 纟; the full 糸 sits at the bottom of compounds.

Forms

糸 mì

Default 18 characters

纟 jiǎosīpáng

Left 118 characters