How to Write 缨 (yīng) — Meaning “Tassel; ribbon; chin strap”

Imagine a baby (婴) playing with a red silk thread (纟), wrapping it into a fluffy tassel or ribbon. The right part 婴 looks like two layers with a female character below, which you can picture as a baby girl wearing a tassel hat. This visual links the silk radical to the tassel meaning and the sound yīng.

Write the left radical 纟 first (three strokes: ㇀, ╰, ╱), then the right part 婴, which starts with the top 贝 (four strokes) then the bottom 女 (three strokes). A common mistake is making the right side too wide; keep the left 纟 narrow and the right 婴 balanced within the square. Pay extra attention to the bottom 女: its horizontal stroke should cross the two slanted lines neatly.

While 缨 (yīng) means tassel or ribbon, 缂 (kè) refers to a type of silk tapestry called "kesi" and has the phonetic 革 (leather). 缃 (xiāng) means light yellow silk and uses the phonetic 相 (xiāng). Visually, 缨 has 婴 on its right, 缂 has 革, and 缃 has 相, so the key difference is the phonetic component and the associated meaning—缨 is about ornaments, not colors or weaving techniques.

Today 缨 appears in words like 红缨 (red tassel) for decorative cords on costumes or weapons, and 帽缨 (hat tassel) for the dangling decorations on caps. It also appears in 缨络 (yīng luò), a term for beaded necklaces or tassel ornaments in Buddhist art. It is a literary or traditional term, not common in everyday speech, but you may see it in historical dramas or descriptions of traditional clothing.

Common words containing 缨 include: 红缨 (hóng yīng) — red tassel; 帽缨 (mào yīng) — Hat tassel; 缨络 (yīng luò) — Beaded necklace; tassel ornament.