些

Étymologie et composants

The Chinese character 些 (xiē) is composed of two parts: the radical 糸 (mì) and the phonetic component 些 (xiē). The radical 糸 originally meant "silk thread" and is used in characters related to textiles, such as 绵 (mián, "cotton") and 线 (xiàn, "thread"). The phonetic component 些 is a simplified form of the character 些 (xiē), which means "a little" or "some."The character 些 (xiē) first appeared in oracle bone script, the earliest known form of Chinese writing. In oracle bone script, 些 was written as a pictograph of a hand holding a small object. This pictograph was later simplified to the current form of 些.The character 些 (xiē) has several meanings in modern Chinese. It can be used as a pronoun to mean "some" or "a few," as in 这些书 (zhèxiē shū, "these books") or 那些人 (nàxiē rén, "those people"). It can also be used as an adverb to mean "a little" or "slightly," as in 他有些累 (tā yǒu xiē lèi, "he is a little tired") or 她有些生气 (tā yǒu xiē shēng qì, "she is a little angry").The character 些 (xiē) is also used in several idioms and proverbs. For example, the idiom 一些一滴 (yī xiē yī dī) means "little by little" or "gradually," and the proverb 积少成多 (jī shǎo chéng duō) means "many a little makes a mickle."In summary, the character 些 (xiē) is a versatile character with several meanings and uses. It is an important character for HSK learners to master, as it is used frequently in both spoken and written Chinese.