繊 means “fiber, fine, slender”

せん · sen

Also: thin kimono

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

セン

JLPT N1 · Taught in secondary school · 17 strokes

The story

Thread (糸) beside a halberd (戈) slicing through a cluster of fine strokes: thread split so thin a blade could cut it. 繊 is fine and slender: 繊維 is fiber, 化繊 synthetic fiber, and 繊細 describes delicate work or a sensitive person.

Used in 繊維 (sen'i, fiber), 繊細 (sensai, delicate/sensitive), and 化繊 (kasen, synthetic fiber)

More from Silk & Sleeves

• 履 put on (shoes)
• 縫 sew
• 裸 naked
• 扇 fan
• 羅 net
• 紡 spin (thread)
• 絹 silk
• 袖 sleeve
• 襟 collar
• 蚕 silkworm
• 裾 hem
• 繭 cocoon

Learn 繊 and more kanji free on Fuji Learning · All kanji

Readings from KANJIDIC2, © EDRDG, CC BY-SA.