细 meaning and stroke order
Thin or slender; finely particulate; thin and soft
How to write 细, stroke by stroke
8 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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- 8
Meaning of 细
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- thin or slender
- finely particulate
- thin and soft
- fine
- delicate
- trifling
How 细 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Silk.
纟 gives the meaning and 田 hints at the sound.
Radical: 纟 (silk), shared by 143 characters on this site.
How to remember 细
细 is made of 纟 (silk) and 田 (tián), which serves as the sound part. Picture a single silk thread laid across a field: it looks very thin and fine next to all that ground.
细 describes things that are thin or slender, like noodles or a waist, and also things done with care and detail. It appears in many common words such as 仔细 (zǐxì) and 详细 (xiángxì). Example: 请你仔细看看。(Qǐng nǐ zǐxì kànkan.) Please look at it carefully.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 细 (xì, thin, slender) with 薄 (báo, thin, flat). Use 细 for long, narrow things like a 细绳子 (a thin rope), and use 薄 for flat things like paper or a thin slice. Also do not mix up the right side 田 with 由 or 甲, which look almost the same.
Common words with 细
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 细节 | xìjié | details; particulars | HSK 4 |
| 细致 | xìzhì | delicate; fine | HSK 4 |
| 仔细 | zǐxì | careful; attentive; cautious; to be careful; to look out | HSK 5 |
| 详细 | xiángxì | detailed; in detail | HSK 5 |
| 细胞 | xìbāo | cell (biology) | HSK 6 |
| 细菌 | xìjūn | bacterium; germ | HSK 6 |
| 精细 | jīngxì | fine; meticulous | HSK 7-9 |
| 细心 | xìxīn | meticulous; careful; attentive | HSK 7-9 |
| 细微 | xìwēi | tiny; minute | HSK 7-9 |
| 细腻 | xìnì | (of skin etc) smooth; satiny; delicate; (of a performance, depiction, craftsmanship etc) f | HSK 7-9 |
| 精打细算 | jīngdǎ-xìsuàn | meticulous planning and careful accounting (idiom) | HSK 7-9 |
| 底细 | dǐxì | inside information; the ins and outs of the matter | |
| 细小 | xìxiǎo | tiny; fine | |
| 干细胞 | gànxìbāo | stem cell |
细 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 细
How many strokes are in 细?
细 is written with 8 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 细 mean?
细 (xì) means thin or slender; finely particulate; thin and soft. A common word with it is 细节 (xìjié), meaning "details; particulars".
How do you pronounce 细?
细 is pronounced xì, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 细?
The radical of 细 is 纟, which carries the idea of "silk". Dictionaries list 细 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 细?
The traditional form of 细 is 細. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 细 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 细 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 细 is part of the HSK 4 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the opposite of 细?
The usual opposite is 粗 (cū), meaning thick or coarse. For example, 粗绳子 is a thick rope and 细绳子 is a thin rope. 粗 can also mean careless, as in 粗心 (cūxīn), the opposite of 细心 (xìxīn).
Can 细 describe a thin person?
细 is usually used for body parts, as in 细腰 (xì yāo, slim waist) or 细长的手指 (long slender fingers). To say a whole person is thin, Chinese speakers normally use 瘦 (shòu) instead.