芝 (zhī): sesame

Meanings

1 sesame
2 glossy ganoderma (lingzhi mushroom)
3 a fragrant herb

Characters

芝

zhī

fragrant herb / lingzhi mushroom / sesame

Examples

灵芝被视为长寿的象征。

Língzhī bèi shìwéi chángshòu de xiàngzhēng.

Lingzhi (ganoderma) is regarded as a symbol of longevity.

古人认为芝草是仙药，能使人长生不老。

Gǔrén rènwéi zhī cǎo shì xiān yào, néng shǐ rén chángshēngbùlǎo.

Ancient people believed the zhi herb was a divine medicine that could grant immortality.

Tips

usage

芝 alone appears mainly in classical and compound contexts: 灵芝 (lingzhi / reishi mushroom), 芝麻 (sesame). In modern Chinese it is rarely used alone. It also appears in given names (e.g. 芝加哥 = Chicago, where 芝 is phonetic).

culture

灵芝 (the lingzhi mushroom) has been revered in Chinese culture for over two millennia as the "herb of immortality" and appears frequently in traditional art, medicine, and mythology.

Components

radical

艹 cǎo

grass; plant (top radical)

Top grass radical (Kangxi #140 in its 3-stroke compressed form) — two tufts of sprouting grass. Indexes 芝 in the plant family with 花 flower, 草 grass, 菜 vegetable. 芝 names the auspicious 灵芝 lingzhi mushroom, prized as a herb of longevity, so the plant radical names the botanical category cleanly.

phonetic

之 zhī

(classical possessive); go to

Lower 之 supplies the sound zhī exactly. 之 is now a particle but originally pictured a foot 'going to' a place; that 'reaching' image carries no live meaning in 芝. Pure phonetic loan — the lingzhi mushroom 灵芝 was named with this convenient sound peg and the grass cap that fits its fungal form.