细 (xì) — HSK 4 Recognition Character: Meaning, Radical & Stroke Order

xì fine, detailed; slender, thin 8 strokes · Radical 纟 (silk) · HSK 4 recognition character (认读字)
👁 Recognition only: the official HSK 4 syllabus asks you to recognize 细 when reading — handwriting it is not required (that applies to the 150 writing characters). The stroke animation below is optional but helps memory.

Pronunciation & meaning

Pronounced xì.

Stroke Order & Practice

Click Animate to see the correct stroke order, then Practice to trace it yourself.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
细 — 8 strokes, numbered in writing order. 笔顺图（数字为下笔顺序）。

Decomposition

细 breaks down into 2 components arranged as Left + Right. Recognizing the components makes the character easier to remember and write.

细 =
纟 left silk
田 right field

Radical

The radical of 细 is 纟 — meaning silk. Radicals are the indexing components used in Chinese dictionaries; they often hint at a character's broad meaning category.

Other HSK 4 characters that share this radical: 线约组纪继绝续.

How the character is built

细 is a phono-semantic compound. The semantic component 纟 (silk) carries the meaning, while the phonetic component 田 originally indicated the sound.

HSK 4 Words Containing 细

细 xì thin; fine; detailed
她做事很细。
Tā zuòshì hěn xì.
She is very detail-oriented.
细心 xìxīn careful; attentive
她是一个非常细心的人。
Tā shì yí gè fēicháng xìxīn de rén.
She is a very careful person.
详细 xiángxì detailed; thorough
请你详细介绍一下这个项目。
Qǐng nǐ xiángxì jièshào yíxià zhège xiàngmù.
Please give a detailed introduction of this project.
仔细 zǐxì careful; meticulous
做题时要仔细看清楚。
Zuòtí shí yào zǐxì kàn qīngchu.
Look carefully when doing problems.

Seen in the Real Exams / 真题例句

细 appears in 36 questions across the 19 mock & official HSK 4 exams on this site. Real exam sentences using it:

做计划当然要很详细。
From Mock Exam 14 →
所以，做决定之前最好仔细考虑一下。
From Mock Exam 19 →
把这些都详细计划好，旅游时才会更轻松。
From Mock Exam 17 →

Tasks Featuring 细 / 相关任务

Words containing 细 appear in these official HSK 4 task scenarios — study the character in context:

📚 谈论某个人物
Describe a Person · 细心

FAQ

What does 细 mean in Chinese?

细 (xì) means fine, detailed; slender, thin. It is one of the 441 characters HSK 4 requires you to recognize when reading (认读字).

How many strokes does 细 have?

细 is written in 8 strokes. Use the practice tool above to see the correct stroke order and trace it yourself.

What is the radical of 细?

The radical of 细 is 纟 (silk). Other HSK 4 characters with the same radical include 线, 约, 组, 纪, 继.

What is the pinyin for 细?

细 is pronounced xì.

What HSK 4 words use 细?

In our HSK 4 vocabulary, 细 appears in 4 words, including 细 (xì), 细心 (xìxīn), 详细 (xiángxì), 仔细 (zǐxì). See the full list above.

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