丝毫
sīháo · HSK 7
vestige
🧵 丝 = silk thread + 毫 = fine hair; two tiniest units = the slightest trace
丝 is a strand of silk and 毫 is a single fine hair, the smallest things a Chinese unit system measures. Joined, 丝毫 means a scintilla, the merest shred, usually paired with a negative: not in the slightest.
丝 — two 糸 silk threads side by side
丝 is a pictograph showing two bundles of silk threads (糸) twisted together, representing raw silk. The original form depicted skeins of silk on a spindle. It later broadened to mean any fine thread or filament, and figuratively a tiny trace or amount.