链 (liàn) · chain, link

Measure Word

一条链 tiáo

Meanings

1 chain
2 link

Examples

HSK 6

他脖子上戴着一条金链。

Tā bózi shàng dài zhe yī tiáo jīn liàn.

He wears a gold chain around his neck.

HSK 6

这条供应链出了问题。

Zhè tiáo gōngyìngliàn chū le wèntí.

There is a problem with this supply chain.

Tips

usage

链 appears in many compounds: 项链 (necklace), 手链 (bracelet), 链接 (link/URL), 供应链 (supply chain), 食物链 (food chain).

Components

radical

钅 jīn

metal; gold (radical form)

Left indexing radical 钅 (metal-variant of 金) - anchors 链 as a metal object. Chains are linked metal rings; the metal-radical also covers all metallic implements: 铁 (iron), 铜 (copper), 锁 (lock), 钱 (money). Without it, 连 alone just means 'connected.'

phonetic

连 lián

to link; to connect (here phonetic and semantic)

Right component 连 (link) supplies the sound (lián → liàn, just a tone change) AND reinforces the meaning. 连 itself shows 辶 (walk) + 车 (cart), picturing carts in a row. So 链 reads literally 'metal that links' - perfect phono-semantic pair, near-tautological.