荜 (bì): long pepper (荜茇)

Meanings

荜茇在中医里用作药材。

Bìbá zài zhōngyī lǐ yòng zuò yàocái.

Long pepper is used in traditional Chinese medicine.

他们荜路蓝缕，白手建起了家。

Tāmen bìlùlánlǚ, báishǒu jiàn qǐ le jiā.

They built their home from scratch through great hardship.

usage

荜 mainly appears in 荜茇 (long pepper, a herb) and the idiom 荜路蓝缕 (to endure great hardship to start something), where it stands for a brushwood cart.

radical

艹 cǎo

grass; plant

The grass radical, top form of 草, marks 荜 as a plant word, fitting both the herb and the brushwood senses.

phonetic

毕 bì

to finish; complete

Supplies the sound bì exactly. The same phonetic also drives 筚, the wickerwork-fence character 荜 can substitute for.

荜 bì