精细
jīng xì · HSK 7
fine
🔬🧵 精 refined + 细 thin/fine = refined down to the thinnest detail
精 — rice 米 + blue/green 青 (phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound: 米 (rice) gives the meaning, while 青 supplies the sound. Originally referred to polished, refined rice — grain with the husk removed. The sense broadened to 'refined, pure, essence,' and later 'fine, skilled, spirit.'
细 — silk radical 糹 + 田 (field)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The silk radical 糹 supplies the meaning, since silk threads are fine and thin, giving 细 its sense of 'thin, fine, slender.' The right side 田 originally wrote 囟 (fontanel) as a phonetic hint, later simplified to 田 in modern script.