線 (Line) — Kanji Decipher

Meaning & readings

line, track

On’yomi セン

Kun’yomi すじ

Origin

This character combines the thread radical on the left, which marks it as something made from fiber, with the sound component on the right that hints at the pronunciation sen. Threads twisted or arranged in a thin strand create a line, so the character's shape reflects this: a fibrous material (糸) formed into the linear paths we call lines or tracks. The right component doesn't add meaning about water or springs, but simply signals roughly how the word should sound in Chinese and Japanese.

線 15 strokes

Components

糸 radical left
泉 sound hint right

A sound hint component points at the character’s pronunciation, not its meaning — don’t read a meaning into it.

Common words

一線いっせん one line; (a) single line
沿線えんせん places alongside a railway line, bus route, major thoroughfare, etc.
横線おうせん horizontal line
回線かいせん circuit; line
幹線かんせん main line; trunk line
曲線きょくせん curve
光線こうせん ray (of light); beam
視線しせん one's line of sight; one's gaze

Easily confused with

These look alike but are unrelated in meaning — check the stroke that differs.

綿 cotton

Reference

Strokes: 15
Kangxi radical: 120
Formation type: Phono-semantic (meaning + sound hint)
Grade: Grade 2 (Kyōiku)
Frequency rank: #382 (newspapers)
Former JLPT: level 2
Unicode: U+07DDA