What 线 means
It starts with thread and extends to lines, routes, and clues. 电线 means wire; 路线 means route; and 线索 means clue or lead.
The Shuowen, a Chinese character dictionary compiled around 100 CE, defines 綫 as a fine strand and identifies 線 as an older form. Later commentary says 線 became the everyday written form.
These forms keep the thread element: 糸 in 綫 and 線, simplified as 纟 in 线. Use 线 in Simplified Chinese; 線 is standard in Traditional Chinese and Japanese. A font can change the strokes, but it cannot turn 线 into the distinct character 線.
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Who writes 线
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Related characters
2
Combination ideas
3Questions people ask
1Why does 线 show as a box on some devices?
Because that device's fonts have no glyph for it. The character is still correct and still copies correctly — the box is a missing glyph, not a broken character.
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How to type or find 线
- Search it as
- xian · xiàn · Chinese character for line · Chinese character for thread · wire in Chinese · 線 · 綫
- Shows up in
- Anything that takes text · its shape is whatever your font draws
线\7EBFCodes and encoding1 code points
A visible symbol can contain several code points. JS .length counts UTF-16 units; UTF-8 counts bytes.