Radical 糸

7 strokes

係 繫

beret (89a) + thread 糸 (607b) = cluster 系

This has various senses including “fasten”, “system” and “department” (with the traditional forms varying from meaning to meaning).

关系 (372) guānxì connection; affect

联系 (374) liánxì train, drill, exercise

没关系 (169, 372) méiguānxì it’s OK (reply to ‘sorry’)

A spider has woven a web out of threads in the beret, and there is now a cluster of eggs there. / The dwarf wraps it up in a sheet and throws it away.

Used colloquially for “one”.

smallest 幺 (607a) + small 小 (50) = thread 糸

When this character appears as the left-hand side of another character, it is abbreviated to the form 纟 which we already know (233a).

The smallest of the small worms looks just like a piece of thread. / [No pronunciation needed]