Meaning
thread; string; wire; line
Chinese: 线、线路或界线。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “xian” becomes a different word in each tone. 线 is the 4th tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.
Stroke Order
Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.
Common Words
- 路线lù xiànitinerary; route; political line (e.g. right revisionist road)
- 线索xiàn suǒtrail; clues; thread (of a story)
- 线路xiàn lù(electricity) line; circuit; wire; (traffic) road
- 光线guāng xiànlight ray; light; illumination; lighting (for a photograph)
- 直线zhí xiànstraight line; sharply (rise or fall)
Example Sentence
请沿着这条线剪开。Qǐng yán zhe zhè tiáo xiàn jiǎn kāi.Please cut along this line.
请Qǐngto ask沿着yán zheto go along这zhèthis条tiáostrip线xiànthread剪jiǎn(bound form) scissors or s开kāito open (transitive or int。
Go deeper
Where this character comes from
The thread radical 纟 (meaning) plus 戋 (jiān, sound): a fine strand — ‘thread / line / wire’. Simplified from 線.
A way to remember it
Thread (纟) + the sound 戋 — a line.
Easy to confuse with
- 钱‘Money’: shares the 戋 sound, but with the metal radical 钅 — thread vs money.