纺 (fǎng): to spin (yarn, thread)

Meanings

1 to spin (yarn, thread)
2 to weave thread from fiber
3 fine woven silk fabric (as a noun)

Characters

纺

fǎng

to spin (thread)

Examples

奶奶从前在乡下纺线织布。

Nǎinai cóngqián zài xiāngxià fǎng xiàn zhībù.

Grandma used to spin thread and weave cloth in the countryside.

这种棉花容易纺成线。

Zhèzhǒng miánhuā róngyì fǎng chéng xiàn.

This kind of cotton is easy to spin into thread.

Tips

memory

The radical 纟 (the simplified form of 糸 'silk thread') signals 'thread / textile' — same family as 织 'weave', 编 'braid', 绣 'embroider', 线 'thread'. The phonetic 方 fāng gives the sound.

usage

Rarely seen alone today; usually appears in compounds: 纺织 (fǎngzhī) 'textiles', 纺线 'spin thread', 纺纱 'spin yarn', 纺锤 (fǎngchuí) 'spindle'. As a noun ('fine silk fabric') it appears in product names like 杭纺 (Hangzhou silk).

Components

radical

纟 sī

silk; thread (radical form of 糸)

Left silk radical — the simplified side-form of 糸, a skein of twisted threads. The indexing radical, anchoring 纺 in the textile family alongside 织 (weave), 线 (thread), 绸 (silk), 棉 (cotton). Spinning fibres into yarn is the very first step of every other 纟 word.

phonetic

方 fāng

square; direction (here phonetic)

Right 方 supplies the sound — fāng shifting to fǎng with a tone change. 方 itself originally depicted a plough handle, also a square. Same phonetic links 纺 with 防 (defend), 房 (house), 访 (visit), 仿 (imitate) — all in the fāng/fǎng family. Choose 方 here purely for the sound, not the meaning.