茅 (máo): cogon grass

Meanings

1 cogon grass
2 thatch grass
3 rush (plant used for thatching)

Characters

茅

máo

thatch grass / cogon grass

Examples

HSK 5

茅台是中国著名的白酒。

Máotái shì Zhōngguó zhùmíng de báijiǔ.

Maotai is a famous Chinese liquor.

HSK 7-9

古代农民用茅草盖屋顶。

Gǔdài nóngmín yòng máo cǎo gài wūdǐng.

Ancient farmers used thatch grass to roof their houses.

Tips

memory

茅 appears in many compound words: 茅草 (thatch), 茅屋 (thatched hut), 茅台 (Maotai liquor, named after Maotai town). The character shows grass over a shape suggesting tangled roots.

Components

radical

艹 cǎo

grass; plant (top radical)

Top grass radical, Kangxi #140 in three-stroke compressed form, two short blades springing from a horizontal base. The indexing element. 茅 names cogon grass, used for centuries to thatch roofs in southern China, so the radical is literal and accurate. Same family: 草 (grass), 花 (flower), 苗 (sprout).

phonetic

矛 máo

spear; lance (here phonetic+semantic)

Bottom 矛 supplies the sound, máo matching the parent reading with no drift. 矛 pictures a spear with a tassel hanging from the shaft, used as a battle weapon. The picture suits: cogon grass has long, sharp, blade-like leaves that look like miniature spear-tips, phonetic and visual reinforcement together.