缕 (lǚ): strand, thread, detailed

缕 (lǚ) is a Chinese character meaning “strand.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 纟 (semantic) and 娄 (phonetic). It ranks #2688 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Etymologically derived, 缕 thread. Its radical form 纟 (silk) appears in many related characters such as 系 (xì, to connect), 累 (lèi, tired), 绍 (shào, to continue).

Spoken pronunciation

Definitions

  1. strand
  2. thread
  3. detailed

Etymology & Origin

缕

pictophoneticthread

Decomposition: ⿰纟娄 (layout: left-right)

Stroke Order

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

Practice writing 缕 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.

Words & Compounds

Common Compounds

WordPinyinMeaning
千丝万缕phraseqiān sī wàn lǚ(idiom) intricately interconnected
不绝如缕phrasebù jué rú lǚhanging by a thread
条分缕析phrasetiáo fēn lǚ xīto analyze thoroughly, point by point (idiom)
罗缕纪存luó lǚ jì cúnto record and preserve
葛缕子noungě lǚ zicaraway
纹缕儿wén lǚ rerhua variant of 紋縷|纹缕
筚路蓝缕phrasebì lù lán lǚthe hardships of beginning an undertaking (idiom)
缕述lǚ shùto relate in detail
丝缕sī lǚsilk thread
蓝缕lán lǚvariant of 襤褸|褴褛
繁缕nounfán lǚcommon chickweed (Stellaria media)
纹缕wén lǚveined pattern
12
Total compounds
8
As first character
58
As last character
33
As middle character

缕 appears in 12 compound words: 8 as the first character, 58 as the last, and 33 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.

Strongest Collocations

Characters that most frequently co-occur with 缕 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.

丝sī
0.543347 co-occurrences
繁fán
0.480208 co-occurrences
衣yī
0.426132 co-occurrences
万wàn
0.425268 co-occurrences
烟yān
0.42548 co-occurrences
千qiān
0.407250 co-occurrences
蓝lán
0.40752 co-occurrences
玉yù
0.389100 co-occurrences
联lián
0.372154 co-occurrences
金jīn
0.358238 co-occurrences

Idioms & Chengyu (4)

不绝如缕bùjuérúlǚHSK 7+

in a desperate situation; faint and long

phrase
千丝万缕qiānsīwànlǚHSK 7+

inexhaustible; linked in countless ways

phrase
条分缕析tiáofēnlǚxīHSK 7+

to make a careful and detailed analysis; to analyze thoroughly point by point

phrase
筚路蓝缕bìlùlánlǚHSK 7+

braving hardships and difficulties in beginning an undertaking

phrase

Example Sentences

AI-Generated

这个缕字在古汉语中有不同的含义。

zhè gě lǚ zì zài gǔ hàn yǔ zhōng yǒu bù tóng de hán yì .

The character "缕" had different meanings in classical Chinese.

中国新闻网·文化Aug 2026

台湾少数民族同样拥有绚丽的织绣传统,一根绣针穿起千年文脉,一缕丝线系紧两岸深情。

tái wān shǎo shǔ mín zú tóng yàng yōng yǒu 绚 lí de zhī xiù chuán tǒng , yī gēn xiù zhēn chuān qǐ qiān nián wén mài , yī lǚ sī xiàn xì jǐn liǎng àn shēn qíng .

Taiwan’s indigenous peoples also boast a magnificent tradition of weaving and embroidery; a single embroidery needle weaves together a cultural heritage spanning millennia, and a single strand of silk ties the deep bonds between both sides of the strait.

中国新闻网·文化Jul 2026

缕缕丝线,连着先辈出海贸易的往事,系着海峡两岸同根同源的文化印记。

lǚ lǚ sī xiàn , lián zhe xiān bèi chū hǎi mào yì de wǎng shì , xì zhe hǎi xiá liǎng àn tóng gēn tóng yuán de wén huà yìn jì .

These delicate threads connect the stories of our ancestors’ maritime trade and bind the cultural ties that stem from our shared roots on both sides of the strait.

中国新闻网·文化Jul 2026

香薰鸭分上下两截,下半截装香料,上半截为盖,点燃香料,一缕缕幽香便会从鸭嘴缓缓吐出。

xiāng 薰 yā fēn shàng xià liǎng jié , xià bàn jié zhuāng xiāng liào , shàng bàn jié wéi gài , diǎn rán xiāng liào , yī lǚ lǚ yōu xiāng biàn huì cóng yā zuǐ huǎn huǎn tǔ chū .

The scented duck is divided into two parts: the lower half holds the spices, and the upper half serves as a lid. When the spices are lit, a gentle, fragrant wisp slowly wafts out from the duck’s beak.

中国新闻网·文化Jun 2026

广东第一缕晨光,落在南澳岛。

guǎng dōng dì yī lǚ chén guāng , luò zài nán ào dǎo .

The first rays of morning light in Guangdong fall on Nan'ao Island.

中国新闻网·文化May 2026

打开中华文明的长卷,总有一缕清雅的茶香。

dǎ kāi zhōng huá wén míng de cháng juǎn , zǒng yǒu yī lǚ qīng yǎ de chá xiāng .

When you unfold the long scroll of Chinese civilization, there is always a hint of the tea’s delicate aroma.

Character Family

Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 纟 (thread) component

Homophones — Characters pronounced lǚ

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 缕 (lǚ) mean in Chinese?
缕 (lǚ) primarily means "strand." It is classified as HSK Level 7-9, making it an expert-level character. It ranks #2688 in character frequency.
What's the difference between 缕 and 数?
缕 (lǚ) and 数 (shǔ) are often confused. confusable. The key distinguishing feature: 纟 vs 攵 (same 娄 component).
How many strokes does 缕 have?
缕 is written with 12 strokes. The correct stroke order matters for recognition and handwriting speed — practice with the animated guide above to build proper technique.
What is the radical of 缕?
The radical associated with 缕 is 纟 (silk). This radical appears in many characters related to silk.
What are the components of 缕?
缕 is composed of: 纟 (semantic), 娄 (phonetic). Its IDS decomposition is ⿰纟娄 with a left-right layout. Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.
What are common words containing 缕?
Common words with 缕 include: 千丝万缕 (qiān sī wàn lǚ, "(idiom) intricately interconnected"); 不绝如缕 (bù jué rú lǚ, "hanging by a thread"); 条分缕析 (tiáo fēn lǚ xī, "to analyze thoroughly, point by point (idiom)"); 罗缕纪存 (luó lǚ jì cún, "to record and preserve"); 葛缕子 (gě lǚ zi, "caraway"). There are over 12 compound words containing this character.
What characters sound the same as 缕 (lǚ)?
Several characters share the pronunciation lǚ: 屡 (time and again), 律 (law), 率 ((bound form) ratio), 虑 (to think over), and 2 more. Context and tones help distinguish between them in speech and writing.
Is 缕 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Yes, 缕 is written the same way in both simplified and traditional Chinese.

Practice writing 缕 with real-time feedback

Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.

Character data sourced from Unihan (Unicode Consortium), SUBTLEX-CH frequency corpus (Cai & Brysbaert, 2010), and Make Me a Hanzi (stroke data). Collocation strength measured via NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information). Verified by the HanziFeed linguistics team.

HSK classification follows the HSK 3.0 Standard (Center for Language Education and Cooperation, CLEC, 2022 revision). Idiom data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Data last verified: March 2026.