裂缝
liè fèng · HSK 7
crack
裂 split/crack + 缝 seam = a crack along a seam
裂 lie means to split or rupture; 缝 feng means a seam or gap. Put together they name the thin gap left when something splits open: a crack or crevice.
裂 — 列 (liè, phonetic) + 衣 (clothing)
A semantic-phonetic compound: 衣 'clothing' gives the meaning and 列 supplies the sound. The original sense was tearing or splitting cloth, which broadened to 'split, crack, rupture' in general. The 衣 component is written split around 列 rather than on the side.
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).