绵 (mián) is a Chinese character meaning “silk floss”. It is written from 纟 (silk; thread (left-side form)) and 帛 (silk fabric), side by side, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “continuous; soft”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
纟 + 帛
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字: 緜，聯微也。从系从帛
Memory aid
A silk thread (纟) spun out beside a bolt of silk cloth (帛) — soft, fine and unbroken, just like 绵.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 绵羊mián yángsheep绵 = mián
- 海绵hǎi miánsponge绵 = mián
Go deeper
All readings
continuous; soft
silk floss; continuous, unbroken; soft
丝绵；延续不断；柔软。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 绵羊mián yángsheep绵 = mián
- 海绵hǎi miánsponge绵 = mián
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 绵 mean?
绵 (mián) means silk floss; continuous, unbroken; soft.
How do you pronounce 绵?
It is pronounced mián.
What parts is 绵 made of?
纟 (silk; thread (left-side form)) and 帛 (silk fabric), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 緜，聯微也。从系从帛. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 绵 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 绵?
纟. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 绵?
Common ones are 绵羊 and 海绵. The reading of 绵 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.