The Japanese Radical: 糸


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Meaning
thread    糸

Explanation

Used in these characters:
JLPT 3Joyo 1
thread
ito, SHI

Image of a spinning wheel for making the thread: At the bottom are three legs, above the horizontal spindle with yarn and a thread guide.  
JLPT 3Joyo 2
picture, drawing
KAI, E
Left: thread 糸, right: to meet 会 (The person 人 and two 二 noses ム have a meeting.)
(derived from a embroidered =stitched picture:) The threads meet in a picture.  
JLPT 4Joyo 2
paper
kami, SHI
Left: thread 糸, right: family 氏 - (Here see 氏 as a scooping grid of papermaking)
Use fibers (= threads) and a scooping grid for making paper. (Or: Threads become a 'family' in: paper.)  
JLPT 3Joyo 2
group, team, assembly
kumi, kumu, SO
Left: thread 糸, right: addition, moreover 且 (A pile of stones (= a stone cairn) where moreover stones are added.)
Take threads (around the) pile of stones to assemble them as a group.  
JLPT 3Joyo 3
rank, grade, class
KYŪ
Left: thread 糸, right: to reach 及 (person 人 with a hand that grasps something)
The thread (i.e. at the uniform) shows the reached (= achieved) rank/grade.  
JLPT 3Joyo 2
narrow, thin, fine
hosoi, komakai, SAI
Left: thread 糸, right: field 田 (Is understood here as a large rice field 囗 with four inner water or flooding areas separated by dams or paths 十)
Like threads are the dams 十 within the rice field: so narrow.  
JLPT 4Joyo 3
finish
owaru, SHŪ
Left: thread 糸 (here: thread of life), right: winter 冬 (With twisted feet 夂 (or sitting cross-legged) on the ice: it's winter.)
The thread of life finds in winter its end.  
JLPT 3Joyo 2
line, (railway) track, wire
SEN
Left: thread 糸, right: spring/fountain 泉 (= white 白 water 水)
Like a thread flows the spring's water: in a line. (Or: The thread in white water is a [fishing] line.)  
JLPT 3Joyo 3
green, verdure
midori, RYOKU, ROKU
Left: thread 糸 (here: plant fiber), right: extrude 录 (= a pressing hand ヨ lets liquid 水 drop out.)
When plant fibers are pressed the extruding liquid is green.  
JLPT 3Joyo 4
record, period, chronicle
KI
Left: thread 糸, right: self 己 (Following the winding path I find myself) - (By making knots in a thread you can record information like distances)
The thread itself (by knots) records periods.  
JLPT 3Joyo 4
supply, provision, salary, bestow
tamau, KYŪ
Left: thread 糸, right: to meet/fit 合 (The lid fits on the pot 口.)
A thread that fits was supplied.  
JLPT 3Joyo 4
tie, knot, fasten, join
musubu, yuu, KETSU
Left: thread 糸, right: luck/joy 吉 (A samurai 士 with a full mouth 口 is happy 吉.)
Threads of joy tie us.  
JLPT 3Joyo 4
continue, follow, series
tsuzuku, ZOKU
Left: thread 糸, right: sell 売 (A Samurai 士 with two legs 儿 is behind a sales desk 冖 and sells.)
(Because threads are endless:) The threads are sold continuously.  
JLPT 3Joyo 4
grandchild
mago, SON
Left: child 子, right: lineage, system 系 (A stroke ノ as the thread 糸 for the lineage.)
The child that is connected by the special [= accent ノ as emphasis] thread of lineage is my grandchild.  
JLPT 3Joyo 4
about, promise, approximate
YAKU
Left: thread 糸, right: ladle 勺
The thread at the ladle reminds of a promise.  
JLPT 3Joyo 3
to train, practice, drill, elaborate, knead, military drill
neru, REN
Left: thread 糸, right: east 東 (Sunrise 日 behind a tree 木in the east.)
With endurance (long as a thread) and already at the early morning (sun is still behind the trees) we shall do our training.  
JLPT 2Joyo 5
longitude, Sutra, pass
heru, tatsu, KEI, KYŌ
Left: thread 糸, right: vertical 圣 (A hand 又 is vertically above the ground 土)
(developed from the vertical warp threads at the loom) A thread with a vertical orientation stands for the longitude or the Sutra.  
JLPT 1Joyo 5
clean, clear, pure
isagiyoi, KETSU
Left: water 氵, right: tally stick , (pairwise marked sticks were distributed at the conclusion and joined again after implementation of an agreement), sword 刀, thread 糸 (here: a cloth)
With water, a tally stick, a sword and cloth it can be cleaned.  
JLPT 1Joyo 6
silk
kinu, KEN
Left: thread 糸, right: [Chinese only: small worm] 肙 (The mouth 口 is as big as the body 月/肉.)
A thread coming from an orifice of a body is silk.  
JLPT 1Joyo 5
weave, fabric
oru, SHOKU, SHIKI
Left: thread 糸, center: sound 音 (Stand up 立 into the day 日 with music [of the clock radio?]), right: halberd 戈
(Looms are noisy:) Threads cause sounds like halberds when being weaved.  
JLPT 2Joyo 5
to spin (a textile) achievement, technique
SEKI
Left: thread 糸, right: liability, responsibility 責 (... for growing plants and money 貝)
Threads have the "responsibility" to be used for spinning.  
JLPT 2Joyo 5
discontinue, exterminate, cease, end
taeru, ZETSU
Left: thread 糸, right: color 色 (top: bent person ⺈, below: 巴 var. of slumped Person 㔾 [In knitting often a colored thread is used do indicate the last row/border.]
The thread is in color to discontinue or end (the fabric).  
JLPT 1Joyo 5
(chemical) element, elementary, base, plain
moto, SO, SU
Top: growing plant , bottom: thread 糸 (= fiber)
Growing plants consist of fibers, which are their (chemical) elements.  
JLPT 2Joyo 5
altogether, whole, total, general
subete,
Left: thread 糸, right: public 公 (Eight 八 noses ム form the public.), heart 心
A thread wound around the public's hearts ties them altogether.  
JLPT 1Joyo 5
unification, unity, supervision, govern, lineage
suberu,
Left: thread 糸, right: to fill 充 (The new born baby [child 子 turned upside down, because at birth with head first] flounders with its legs 儿 to be 'filled' [= to be fed].)
If threads are filled in, it's a unification.  
JLPT 2Joyo 5
compile, knit, edit, book
amu, HEN
Left: thread 糸, right: door plate 扁 (= a door 戸 with a writing tablet 冊)
Use a thread 糸 and book covers 戸 and pages 冊 to make a compilation.  
綿
JLPT 2Joyo 5
cotton
wata, MEN
Left: thread/fibers 糸, right: 帛 (= white 白 cloth/fabric 巾)
The threads of the white cloths are: cotton.  
JLPT 1Joyo 6
home town, village, rural
KYŌ, GŌ
From the left: 幺 as a variant of thread 糸 in the sense of “short thread”, not good 艮, village⻏ (right also: variation of husband 郎)
You are cut off (from urban life), like a short thread and that is not good: in the village.  
JLPT 1Joyo 6
lineage, system
KEI
Top: accent, emphasis ノ, below: thread 糸
An emphasized thread is symbol for the lineage.  
JLPT 2Joyo 6
red, crimson
kurenai, beni, KŌ, KU
Left: thread 糸, right: craftsman 工
(On construction sites there are red tapes to cordon off hazardous areas.) The thread of the craftsman is crimson-red.  
JLPT 1Joyo 6
vertical, length
tate,
Left: thread 糸, right: follow, obey 従 (Go 彳 out 丷 but correctly 正 and obedient.)
(At the loom:) The threads of "obedience= 従" [= warp-thread, to which the rest follows] are vertical.  
JLPT 1Joyo 6
shrink, reduce, shorten
chijimu/meru, SHUKU
Left: thread 糸, right: accommodation/lodge 宿 (Below a roof 宀 with persons 人 in hundreds 百) [百 = Tilt your head to the right and you will see a 'one' with two zeros = 100]
(The laundry was washed too hot:) The threads in the lodge have been shrunk.  
JLPT 2Joyo 6
genuine, purity, innocence
JUN
Left: thread 糸, right: barracks 屯 (Where growing shoots 屮 pierced the ground 一 they built a barracks.)
(The uniform is tidy.) The threads in the barracks are in genuine purity.  
JLPT 1Joyo 6
agreement, delivery, consent, settlement, obtain
osameru, NŌ, NA, NATSU, TŌ
Left: thread 糸, right: inside 内 (A person 人 within a frame 冂 is inside.)
When the thread is inside, it has been delivered according to the agreement.  
JLPT 1Joyo 7
connection, fiber, fasten, rope
I
Left: thread 糸, right: bird 隹
(Such that it does not fly away) The thread at a bird is a connection: a fiber to fasten.  
JLPT 1Joyo 7
latitude, east-west, weft(textile)
I
Left: thread 糸, right: averted from the center 韋 (var. of 5 五, center 口, 5 五 (upside down)= twice five averted from center
Threads away from the center (at a loom) are wefts and stand for latitude. (This is in contrast to the longitude 経 which shows a warp thread together with "vertical 圣")  
JLPT 1Joyo 7
rim, edge, ties, relation, fate, karma
fuchi, EN
Left: thread 糸, right: hand ヨ and: pig 豕
If you are bound by a thread at the hand like a pig, you are on the edge, and that is your fate.  
JLPT 1Joyo 7
loosen, slacken, lessen, ease
yurui/mu/meru/yaka, KAN
Left: thread 糸, right: (Chinese only) to help 爰 (a hand reaches down 爫 to give a rope ノ [with two 二 knots] and another hand 又 takes this help.)
(On the loom, the tension should not be too high:) The thread is helpful if it is loose.  
JLPT 1Joyo 7
examine, entwine
KYŪ
Left: thread 糸, right: twisted 丩 (pictograph: two intertwined threads).
The thread is twisted: Examine it!  
JLPT 1Joyo 7
tight, solid, tense, compact, to tie
KIN
Top: retainer 臣 and: hand 又, below: thread 糸
Around the retainer's hands is a thread to tie them tightly.  
JLPT 1Joyo 7
winding, reel, count
kuru,
Left: thread 糸, right: bird's chirping 喿 (actually beaks 品, but here: spindle/reel and: tree 木)
Threads are put on spindles 口 made of wood by winding.  
JLPT 1Joyo 7
patch (at cloth), inherit, follow
tsugu, mama-, KEI
From left: thread 糸, corner ∟, rice 米
With the thread onto the corner-like tear ∟ [at the clothes] a patch 米 is added as a layer to follow.  
JLPT 1Joyo 7
cocoon (of the silkworm)
mayu, KEN
Top: plant 艹, below: cocoon 冂 with two chambers, inside: thread 糸 and insect 虫
Under a plant, the thread of an insect forms: A cocoon.  
JLPT 1Joyo 7
strangle, wring, constrict
shiboru, shimeru,
Left: thread 糸, right: mix/exchange 交 (Image of a person sitting cross-legged)
When threads are mixed (i.e. in a woven fabric), then they "strangle" each others and the fabric can be wrung.  
JLPT 1Joyo 7
cable, line, rope
tsuna,
Left: thread 糸, right: hill 岡 (Caught in a trawl/dragnet 罒 (with pull lines 冂) the mountain 山 turns into a hill.)
If you have as many threads like a "hill", it could be a rope.  
JLPT 1Joyo 7
dark blue, navy-blue
KON
Left: thread 糸, right: sweet 甘 (image of an open mouth 廿 with something sweet 一 between teeth)
(Blueberry-flavored cotton candy is blue:) This thread is sweet and dark blue.  
JLPT 1Joyo 7
cord, string, rope, search, seek
SAKU
From top: ten 十, cover 冖, thread 糸
Ten covered threads make that string/rope, you were searching for.  
JLPT 1Joyo 7
purple, violet
murasaki, SHI
Top: this 此 (to stop 止 and sitting person 匕), below: thread 糸
Stop at the person with the threads in: purple.  
JLPT 2Joyo 7
connection, thong, cord, beginning, string
o, SHO, CHO
Left: thread 糸, right: person 者 (is used at: 一緒に【いっしょに】, where the one 一 thread 糸 makes the persons 者 to be connected.)
A thread (or bond) between persons is their connection.  
JLPT 2Joyo 7
recommendation, introduce, present, inherit
SHŌ
Left: thread 糸, right: call/summon 召 (with sword 刀 and mouth 口)
Like a thread to call sb.: The recommendation.  
JLPT 1Joyo 7
rope, cord
nawa,
Left: thread 糸, right: At the rope maker the rope 乚 is clamped in two holding jaws 臼 for being twisted.
Threads are clamped twice to make/twist a rope.  
JLPT 1Joyo 7
Gentleman, gentry
SHIN
Left: thread 糸, right: say/tell 申 (A mouth 口 with a big "plus" + for the outgoing surplus when talking.)
(Wheater he has good clothes?) The thread tells a lot about the gentleman.  
JLPT 1Joyo 7
fine, slender, fiber, slim
SEN
Left: thread 糸, right: halberd 戈 with ten 十, hollow 业 (= hollow vent of an extinct volcano)
Like 'threads' are the ten hollow halberds: such fine.  
JLPT 1Joyo 7
darning, repair, fix, patch
tsukurou, ZEN
Left: thread 糸, right: goodness 善 (A sheep 羊, that stands 立 and opens the mouth 口 has goodness and is virtuous.)
A thread has the 'goodness' for darning/repairing.  
JLPT 1Joyo 7
bind, tighten, tie, lock, fasten
shimaru/meru, TEI
Left: thread 糸, right: emperor 帝 (Stand 立 up and cover 冖 with cloth 巾, the emperor comes.)
A thread connects you to the emperor as a binding.  
JLPT 1Joyo 7
bind, tie, restrict, restrain, truss, arrest
shibaru, BAKU
Left:thread 糸, right: var. of wholly, exclusive 専 (The soil 一 is penetrated by a (sole) sprout 丨 in the rice field 田, cared for by a skillful hand 寸, which is exclusive)
(The purpose of) A thread is wholly for binding sth.  
JLPT 1Joyo 7
abundance, luxuriant, profuse, prosper, voluptuous
shigeru, HAN
Top: agile, quick, intelligent 敏 (when everybody 毎 strikes 攵), below: thread 糸
(Threads were made from plant fibers [such as flax / linum] by strikes.) If everybody strikes we will get threads: in abundance.  
JLPT 1Joyo 7
distract, confusion, stray, be diverted, be mistaken for, go astray
magireru/rasu/rawashii, FUN
Left: thread 糸, right: divide 分 (with eight 八 swords 刀)
Threads that were divided can easily be confused.  
JLPT 1Joyo 7
sew, stitch, embroider
nuu,
From left: thread 糸, movement 辶, pointed, needle-shaped 夆 (When sitting cross-legged 夂 on the peak of a growing plant 丰, you feel it pointed. )
The thread gets pointed (= provided with a pointed needle) and is moved when: sewing.  
JLPT 1Joyo 7
spin (yarn)
tsumugu,
Left: thread 糸 (i.e. of the wool), right: direction 方
Bring the thread in a common direction, when: spinning.  
JLPT 1Joyo 7
net, network, dragnet
ami,
Left: thread 糸, right: image of a trawl/dragnet 岡 (net 罒 with a pull lines 冂), inside: death 亡 (= coffin in cross section)
With threads a dragnet for 'dead fishing' is made, which stands in general for: a net.  
JLPT 1Joyo 7
family's emblem, escutcheon, pattern
MON
Left: thread 糸, right: text, sentence 文 - Similar to 'picture 絵' (= Threads 糸 meet 会 in the embroidered picture.) also the family's emblem is stitched.
Threads form the 'text' in a family's emblem or a textile pattern.  
JLPT 1Joyo 7
gauze, net, thin silk
RA
Top: net 罒, below: connection, fiber 維 (The thread 糸 at the bird 隹 is its connection [.. such that it does not fly away].)
A net made of fibers of thin silk.  
JLPT 2Joyo 7
entwine, connect, involve
karamu/maru, RAKU
Left: thread 糸, right: each 各 (With crossed legs 夂 on a cushion 口 sits everybody.)
The threads are all entwined.  
JLPT 1Joyo 7
implication, accumulate, trouble
RUI
Top: field 田, below: thread 糸
A whole field of threads causes bad implications.  
JLPT -Joyo 7
rip, be torn apart, to open out, opened seam
hokorobiru, TAN
Left: thread 糸, right: fix, decide 定 (Under the roof 宀 we have correct 正 rules for our decision.)
The thread has fixed it, but now it is ripped open.  
JLPT -Joyo 7
fine (not coarse), tiny, precise
CHI
Left: thread 糸, right: do, lead to 致 (reach-a-target 至 [an arrow ム falling to ground 土 ], hit, strike 攵 [Here: 攵 freely interpreted as a pinhole of a needle])
If a thread is reached 至 to be in a pinhole 攵, it must be: fine and you acted precise.  

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