缝合
féng hé · HSK 7
to sew together
🪡 缝 (sew) + 合 (close together) = stitch closed
缝 féng means to sew or stitch; 合 hé means to join or close. Together: stitching two edges shut. Used for sewing fabric, suturing wounds, or joining seams in surgery and tailoring.
缝 — silk radical 糹 + meet 逢 (phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The silk radical 糹 signals thread and sewing, while 逢 (féng, 'to meet') gives the sound and hints at bringing edges together. Originally meaning 'to sew/stitch,' it later extended to 'seam' and 'crack' (read fèng).
合 — 乛 (lid/roof) + 口 (mouth)
Originally a pictograph of a lidded vessel — a cover (亼) closing over an opening (口) — giving the core sense of 'come together, join, fit.' From 'fit/match' it extended to 'combine, unite, agree' and to measure-word uses. The reading hé reflects this 'joining' meaning.