絮

xù

如 + 糸

Definitions

xù (noun) cotton wadding; padding

xù (adjective) long-winded; rambling

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 糸 represents the meaning and 如 represents the sound.

Semantic: 糸 Phonetic: 如

About

絮 (xù) denotes cotton wadding, coarse silk, or chattering endlessly, connecting a physical substance with a behavioral description. It is a phonosemantic compound: the bottom component, the silk radical 糸 (mì), anchors the meaning in textiles and fibers, while the top component 如 (rú) cues the pronunciation. Originally, the character referred to leftover, inferior silk fibers used to pad winter garments. This meaning metaphorically broadened to describe anything resembling flying cotton, such as willow catkins blowing in the wind, and later extended to an adjective for repetitive, bothersome talking, evoking the tangled nature of raw fibers.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

柳絮随风飞舞。

Liǔ xù suí fēng fēi wǔ.

Willow catkins dance with the wind.

这件被子填满了棉絮。

Zhè jiàn bèi zi tián mǎn le mián xù.

This quilt is filled with cotton batting.

奶奶总是絮叨个不停。

Nǎi nai zǒng shì xù dāo gè bù tíng.

Grandma always chatters non-stop.

夜晚的絮语让人宁静。

Yè wǎn de xù yǔ ràng rén níng jìng.

The murmurs of the night bring peace.

他的演讲太絮烦了。

Tā de yǎn jiǎng tài xù fán le.

His speech is too tedious.

空中飘满了白色的柳絮。

Kōng zhōng piāo mǎn le bái sè de liǔ xù.

The air is filled with white willow catkins.

她絮絮叨叨地说着往事。

Tā xù xù dāo dāo de shuō zhe wǎng shì.

She chattered on and on about past events.

棉絮的质感使得衣物更加舒适。

Mián xù de zhì gǎn shǐ de yī wù gèng jiā shū shì.

The texture of cotton batting makes clothes more comfortable.

Related Characters

Composed characters:

Component: 如

Component: 糸

絮