茗 (míng): tea

Meanings

朋友们聚在一起品茗聊天。

Péngyou men jù zài yī qǐ pǐn míng liáotiān.

Friends gathered to brew tea and chat at their leisure.

湖边有一家清静的茗馆。

Húbiān yǒu yìjiā qīngjìng de míng guǎn.

There is a quiet teahouse by the lake.

register

茗 is an elegant, literary word for tea, seen in 品茗 ("to savour tea"). Everyday speech just uses 茶 (chá).

radical

艹 cǎo

grass; plant

艹 is the grass radical, marking 茗 as the leaves of the tea plant.

phonetic

名 míng

name

名 gives the exact sound míng and carries no meaning in 茗; it is purely the phonetic.

茗 míng