线

xiàn

thread

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound. Simplified form of .

Components
纟 meaning component

  Meaning component

  

silk

is a component form of .

戋 sound component

  Sound component

jiān

  

small

Evolution

线 Seal script Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)

Seal script

Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)
线 Seal script Shuowen (~100 AD)

Seal script

Shuowen (~100 AD)
线 Seal script Shuowen (~100 AD)

Seal script

Shuowen (~100 AD)
线 Traditional script Modern

Traditional script

Modern
线 Simplified script Modern

Simplified script

Modern
Definitions

线 () 

xiàn

thread, line, wire; clue; thread; string; wire; line; CL:|[tiáo],[gǔ],[gēn]; (after a number) tier (unofficial ranking of a Chinese city)

线 () 

xiàn

variant of |线[xiàn]

Most common words with 线
Freq.
Word
Meaning

线

thread

线索

trail

路线

itinerary

线路

line

热线

hotline (communications link)