抽丝 (chōu sī) — to reel silk from cocoons; (figurative) to do t…

Definition

Literal sense: to draw (reel) silk thread from a cocoon. Figuratively, it means doing something very slowly and carefully, thread by thread.

verb

to reel silk from cocoons(figurative) to do things slowly and methodically

抽丝。
chōu sī Shì zhì zuò sī chóu de dì yī bù.
Reeling silk is the first step in making silk.
。
Gōng rén cóng cán jiǎn shàng chōu le sī.
The worker reeled silk from the cocoon.
抽丝。
Tā zuò shì xiàng chōu sī yí yàng màn.
He does things as slowly as reeling silk.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

抽 means to draw or pull, and 丝 means silk or thread; together they describe drawing out threads.

Characters in this word

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

扌由抽

Meaning part形符xíngfú

扌Written in full as手shǒuhand

Sound part声符shēngfú

由

由yóu抽chōu

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

The left part 扌 is the hand form, written in full as 手, and the right part 由 provides the sound.

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.