細 means “thin, slender”

ほそい · hosoi

Also: dainty, get thin, taper

Kun'yomi (Japanese reading)

ほそい, ほそる, こまか, こまかい

On'yomi (Chinese reading)

サイ

JLPT N4 · Taught in grade 2 · 11 strokes

The story

Thread (糸) and field (田): something stretched as thin as a thread across a field. 細 captures delicacy and precision, from the thin noodles of sōmen to the fine detail work of Japanese lacquerware.

Used in 細い (hosoi, thin) and 細胞 (saibou, cell/biology)

More from Colors & Shapes

• 赤 red
• 青 blue
• 白 white
• 黒 black
• 色 color
• 黄 yellow
• 緑 green
• 紫 purple
• 金 gold
• 銀 silver
• 丸 circle
• 角 angle

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