花 (huā) · flower, to spend (money, time)

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

HSK 1

花了多少钱？

Huā le duōshao qián?

How much did it cost?

HSK 1

我花了两个小时。

Wǒ huā le liǎng gè xiǎoshí.

I spent two hours.

HSK 5

这朵花很漂亮。

Zhè duǒ huā hěn piàoliang.

This flower is very beautiful.

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).