冬虫夏草

冬蟲夏草

dōngchóngxiàcǎo

noun

Meanings

1 caterpillar fungus
2 cordyceps (Ophiocordyceps sinensis)

Characters

Examples

正宗的冬虫夏草价格非常昂贵。

Zhèngzōng de dōngchóngxiàcǎo jiàgé fēicháng ángguì.

Genuine cordyceps is extremely expensive.

他送了父亲一盒冬虫夏草。

Tā sòng le fùqīn yì hé dōngchóngxiàcǎo.

He gave his father a box of cordyceps as a gift.

Tips

memory

Literally 'winter worm, summer grass' — perfectly describes its life cycle: a parasitic fungus infects a caterpillar in winter, kills it, then in summer a grass-like fruiting body sprouts from the mummy's head.

Stroke Order

冬 dōng

虫 chóng

夏 xià

草 cǎo