細 meaning and stroke order
Fine, detailed; slender, thin
How to write 細, stroke by stroke
11 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
Meaning of 細
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- thin or slender
- finely particulate
- thin and soft
- fine
- delicate
- trifling
How 細 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Silk.
糹 gives the meaning and 田 hints at the sound.
Radical: 糹 (silk), shared by 126 characters on this site.
How to remember 細
細 (xì) puts silk 糹 on the left beside 田. Silk thread is the thinnest, finest thing you can spin, so the silk part gives the meaning of fine and slender, while 田 was used as the sound hint.
細 is the traditional form, and 细 is the simplified form used in mainland China. It describes thin or fine things like thread or noodles, and it also means careful or detailed when applied to work and thinking, as in 仔細 (zǐxì) and 詳細 (xiángxì). Example: 請你仔細看看。(Qǐng nǐ zǐxì kànkan.) Please look at it carefully.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes write 田 (tián) as 由 or 甲, letting a stroke poke through the top or bottom. In 細 the right side is a closed 田 with nothing sticking out. Another trap is using 細 for a thin person. 瘦 (shòu) is the normal word for that, and 細 is for thin objects or body parts, like 細腰 (xìyāo) slim waist.
Common words with 細
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 細節 | xìjié | details; particulars | HSK 4 |
| 細緻 | xìzhì | delicate; fine | HSK 4 |
| 仔細 | zǐxì | careful; attentive; cautious; to be careful; to look out | HSK 5 |
| 詳細 | xiángxì | detailed; in detail | HSK 5 |
| 細胞 | xìbāo | cell (biology) | HSK 6 |
| 細菌 | xìjūn | bacterium; germ | HSK 6 |
| 精細 | jīngxì | fine; meticulous | HSK 7-9 |
| 細心 | xìxīn | meticulous; careful; attentive | HSK 7-9 |
| 細微 | xìwēi | tiny; minute | HSK 7-9 |
| 細膩 | xìnì | (of skin etc) smooth; satiny; delicate; (of a performance, depiction, craftsmanship etc) f | HSK 7-9 |
| 精打細算 | jīngdǎ-xìsuàn | meticulous planning and careful accounting (idiom) | HSK 7-9 |
| 底細 | dǐxì | inside information; the ins and outs of the matter | |
| 細小 | xìxiǎo | tiny; fine | |
| 幹細胞 | gànxìbāo | stem cell |
Questions about 細
How many strokes are in 細?
細 is written with 11 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 細 mean?
細 (xì) means fine, detailed; slender, thin. A common word with it is 细节 (xìjié), meaning "details; particulars".
How do you pronounce 細?
細 is pronounced xì, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 細?
The radical of 細 is 糹, which carries the idea of "silk". Dictionaries list 細 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 細?
細 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 细, used in mainland China and Singapore.
What is the difference between 細 (xì) and 薄 (báo)?
細 means thin in width, like a narrow thread or stick. 薄 means thin in thickness, like paper or a slice of meat. A thin noodle is 細, a thin book is 薄.
What is the opposite of 細?
The usual opposite is 粗 (cū), meaning thick or coarse. You see pairs like 粗細 (cūxì) thickness, and 粗心 (cūxīn) careless versus 細心 (xìxīn) careful.