纟

Silk Radical (纟)

sī · 3 strokes · Full form: 糸

The silk radical (纟) is one of the most common radicals in Chinese. It appears in 79 characters related to silk and associated concepts. The standalone character form is 糸 (3 strokes); the component form 纟 is used inside compound characters. 79 characters: 2 in HSK 1, 5 in HSK 2, 6 in HSK 3, 9 in HSK 4, 14 in HSK 5, 6 in HSK 6, 35 in HSK 7-9, 2 in HSK 7-9. Radical classifications follow the Kangxi radical system. Character data is based on the HSK 3.0 Standard (CLEC 2022 syllabus).

Radical vs. Component: 纟 is also a character component. As a radical, it classifies characters in dictionaries. As a component, it appears as a building block contributing meaning, sound, or structure. For component-specific details including role analysis and position patterns, see the Silk Component (纟) page.

Silk Radical at a Glance

Stroke Count3 (纟)
Total Characters79
Most Common HSK LevelHSK 7-9 (35 characters)
Avg. Character Strokes9
Standalone Form糸 (sī)
ClassificationKangxi Radicals

All Silk Radical Characters

HSK 1 (2 characters)

给gěigive系xìto connect

HSK 2 (5 characters)

红hóngred经jīngpass through,经典绿lǜgreen绍shàoto continue累lěito accumulate

HSK 3 (6 characters)

结jiéknot, result级jílevel, grade练liànto practice纸zhǐpaper终zhōngend, finally绩jìto spin (hemp etc)

HSK 4 (9 characters)

线xiànline, thread继jìto continue细xìthin, detailed组zǔgroup, to organize绝juéabsolutely, to cut off纪jìrecord, discipline约yuēto make an appointment续xùto continue紧jǐntight

HSK 5 (14 characters)

统tǒngto unite, system维wéito maintain织zhīto weave缩suōto shrink, to contract纷fēnnumerous绪xùmood, thread缓huǎnslow, delay络làosmall net综zèngheddle繁fáncomplicated绕ràoto wind索suǒabbr. for 索馬里|索马里, Somalia紫zǐpurple素sùraw silk

HSK 6 (6 characters)

编biānto edit, to compile纳nàto accept, to pay纯chúnpure绒róngvelvet绘huìto draw纠jiūto gather together

HSK 7-9 (35 characters)

缘yuáncause纲gānghead rope of a fishing net纵zòngvertical绑bǎngto tie绷bēngto draw tight缤bīnused in 繽紛|缤纷缠chánto wind around绸chóu(light) silk绰chāoto grab缔dì(archaic) to bind up inextricably纺fǎngto spin (cotton or hemp etc)绯fēidark red缝féngto sew缚fùto bind缉jīto seize绞jiǎoto twist (strands into a thread)缴jiǎoto hand in缆lǎncable缕lǚstrand绵miánsilk floss缅miǎnMyanmar (formerly Burma) (abbr. for 緬甸|缅甸)纽niǔto turn纱shācotton yarn绅shēnmember of gentry绳shéngrope纬wěilatitude纹wénline紊wěninvolved纤qiànboatman's tow-rope绣xiùto embroider絮xùcotton wadding绎yìcontinuous绽zhànto burst open缀zhuìto sew绊bànto trip

HSK 7-9 (2 characters)

纂zuǎn(literary) to compile绢juànthin, tough silk fabric

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the silk radical mean in Chinese characters?
The silk radical (纟) signals a semantic connection to silk-related concepts. When you see 纟 in a character, it typically indicates the character's meaning involves silk or associated ideas. With 79 characters using this radical, it is one of the more productive radicals in Chinese. Radical classifications follow the Kangxi radical system, the traditional standard for organizing Chinese characters.
How many characters use the silk radical?
There are 79 characters with the silk radical (纟) in the HSK 3.0 character set (CLEC 2022 syllabus): 2 in HSK 1, 5 in HSK 2, 6 in HSK 3, 9 in HSK 4, 14 in HSK 5, 6 in HSK 6, 35 in HSK 7-9, 2 in HSK 7-9. The distribution across HSK levels reflects how fundamental silk-related concepts are at each stage of Mandarin learning.
What is the difference between 纟 and 糸?
糸 is the standalone character form (sī, meaning "silk"), while 纟 is the simplified radical form used as a component inside other characters. When writing characters that contain the silk radical, you write 纟 rather than the full form 糸. Both forms represent the same radical — the component form 纟 is adapted for compact positioning within a character's structure.
What are the most common silk radical characters?
By frequency of use, the most common characters with the silk radical (纟) are: 经 (jīng, "pass through,经典"), 给 (gěi, "give"), 系 (xì, "to connect"), 结 (jié, "knot, result"), 统 (tǒng, "to unite, system"). These high-frequency characters are among the first silk-related characters most learners encounter.
What HSK levels include silk radical characters?
Characters with the silk radical (纟) appear across 8 HSK levels: 2 in HSK 1, 5 in HSK 2, 6 in HSK 3, 9 in HSK 4, 14 in HSK 5, 6 in HSK 6, 35 in HSK 7-9, 2 in HSK 7-9. The largest concentration is at HSK 7-9 with 35 characters. Earlier HSK levels introduce the most common silk-related characters, while advanced levels add specialized or literary terms.

Sources & Standards

Radical classifications on this page follow the Kangxi radical system (康熙部首), the standard set of 214 radicals codified in the Kangxi Dictionary (康熙字典, 1716). Character data is based on the HSK 3.0 Standard (《国际中文教育中文水平等级标准》), published by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation (CLEC), Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, 2022 revision.