花 (huā): flower

Measure Word

一朵花 duǒ

Meanings

1 flower
2 to spend (money, time)

Characters

花

huā

flower; to spend (money/time)

Grass radical 艹 on top — it's a plant.

Examples

这朵花很漂亮。

Zhè duǒ huā hěn piàoliang.

This flower is very beautiful.

花了多少钱？

Huā le duōshao qián?

How much did it cost?

我花了两个小时。

Wǒ huā le liǎng gè xiǎoshí.

I spent two hours.

Tips

grammar

The measure word for flowers is 朵, one of the more specific Chinese measure words. 一朵花 (a flower), 一朵云 (a cloud) — 朵 is used for flowers and clouds.

culture

Different flowers carry different meanings in Chinese culture: 牡丹 (peony) symbolizes wealth and honor; 梅花 (plum blossom) symbolizes resilience; 荷花 (lotus) symbolizes purity.

Components

radical

艹 cǎo

grass (radical form of 草)

Top grass radical, the compressed form of 草. Anchors 花 firmly in the plant family — flowers are the bloom of grasses and herbs in Chinese categorisation. Same radical drives 草 (grass), 苗 (sprout), 茶 (tea), 菜 (vegetable). Provides the core meaning while 化 supplies the sound.

phonetic

化 huà

to transform; change

Bottom 化 supplies the sound (huà → huā, just a tone shift) and a strong semantic echo: 化 means 'transform' — flowers are plants in transformed, blossoming state. So 花 reads as 'transformed grass = blossom'. Phono-semantic with unusually transparent semantics. Same phonetic in 货 (huò, goods).