I strung the bow with a bowstring.
The bowstring broke, so I put on a new one.
string (of a musical instrument)
Used for strings of shamisen, guitar, violin, etc. Often written 弦 or 絃.
After changing the guitar strings, the sound improved.
Only when written 鉉
Refers to the curved handle of a pot or kettle. The kanji 鉉 is specifically used for this meaning.
Lift the iron kettle by its bail.
diagonal levelling wire (on a masu)
A thin wire stretched diagonally across the top of a masu (枡) to level off rice or other contents. Also written as 梁 in this context.
See also: 升
Level off the rice using the diagonal wire on the masu.
He drew the bowstring and shot the arrow.
The guitar string broke.
I tried plucking the violin string.
弦 is used for the strings of Western instruments or a bowstring, while 緒 refers specifically to the string of a traditional Japanese instrument like a koto or shamisen.
弦 (つる, bowstring/string) and 鶴 (つる, crane) are pronounced identically but refer to completely unrelated things—a taut cord versus a bird.
Used for long, cylindrical or string-like things; for bowstrings this is the most natural choice from the list.
Standard kanji for bowstrings and musical instrument strings.
Kana spelling is common in everyday writing when the specific kanji nuance is not needed.
Variant kanji for strings, especially of musical instruments; less common than 弦.
Specialized kanji for the arched handle (bail) of a pot or kettle.
The kanji 弦 depicts a bow with a string, originally referring to bowstrings. Extended to strings of musical instruments and, by metaphorical shape, to arched handles and levelling wires.