艾草

àicǎo
noun

Meanings

  1. 1 mugwort
  2. 2 Asian wormwood (genus Artemisia)

Examples

HSK 7-9
Duānwǔjié jiājiāhùhù guà àicǎo qūxié.
On the Dragon Boat Festival every household hangs mugwort to ward off evil.
HSK 7-9
Àicǎo kěyǐ rùyào, yě kěyǐ zuò àijiǔ.
Mugwort can be used as medicine and also for moxibustion.

Tips

culture
Hung above doorways during 端午节 (Dragon Boat Festival, 5th day of 5th lunar month) along with 菖蒲 (calamus) - believed to repel insects, illness, and evil spirits during the disease-prone summer.
memory
= mugwort, = grass/herb. The compound just adds a generic 'herb' suffix to make the plant name unambiguous.

Stroke Order

ài
cǎo