莜 (yóu) · oat grass; naked oat

Meanings

1 oat grass; naked oat

Characters

莜

yóu

a type of oat plant (naked oat)

Examples

HSK 7-9

莜麦是内蒙古和山西的传统农作物。

Yóumài shì Nèi Měnggǔ hé Shānxī de chuántǒng nóngzuòwù.

Naked oats (yóumài) are a traditional crop in Inner Mongolia and Shanxi.

HSK 7-9

莜面栲栳栳是山西的特色面食。

Yóumiàn kǎolǎolǎo shì Shānxī de tèsè miànshí.

Yóu-flour rolls (kǎolǎolǎo) are a specialty noodle dish from Shanxi.

Tips

usage

莜 on its own refers to the oat plant; it almost always appears in compounds like 莜麦 (naked oat grain) or 莜面 (oat flour). A standalone usage is rare.

Components

radical

艹 cǎo

grass; plant

Top grass radical - the 3-stroke compressed form of 艸. The indexing radical, anchors 莜 in the botanical family of 麦 wheat, 草 grass, 苗 seedling. Marks 莜 as a plant - specifically 莜麦 naked oats (Avena nuda), a hardy cereal long grown in north Chinese highlands and central to Shanxi cuisine (莜面 oat noodles).

phonetic

攸 yōu

distant; far

Bottom 攸 supplies the sound - yōu shifting to yóu with tone change. Pure phonetic role; the literary 'distant' meaning of 攸 contributes nothing semantically. 攸 itself is a 7-stroke compound (person + stream-line + tapping hand). The simpler 莜 lets you reuse a less common phonetic component cleanly.