丝线 (sī xiàn) — silk thread; silk yarn

Definition

noun

silk threadsilk yarn

Measure word · 根

丝线。
Tā yòng sī xiàn xiù le yì duǒ huā.
She embroidered a flower with silk thread.
丝线，。
Zhè zhǒng sī xiàn hěn xì, shì hé zuò shǒu gōng.
This kind of silk thread is very fine, suitable for handicrafts.
丝线。
Gǔ dài rén yòng sī xiàn féng zhì yī fu.
Ancient people used silk thread to sew clothes.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

The material 丝, silk, gives the thread 线 its name, so it is a silk thread.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 絲; 丝 is its simplified writing.

糸糸絲

In the traditional form 絲, the shape is two 糸 written together; this is about 絲, not the simplified 丝.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 線; 线 is its simplified writing.

糹泉線

Meaning part形符xíngfú

糹Written in full as糸mì

Sound part声符shēngfú

泉

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 線 uses 糹 (silk/thread) to show the meaning and 泉 to suggest the sound; the simplified 线 is a later shorthand.

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