细
xì · HSK 4
fine
🧵 细 = 纟(silk thread) + 田 (field); silk threads are fine and thin
The radical 纟marks anything thread- or fabric-related; pair it with 田 as phonetic. Thread-thin extends to fine details, fine particles, and minute distinctions.
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.