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莼

蓴
chún
noun

Meanings

  1. 1 (in 莼菜) water shield, an edible aquatic plant

Examples

莼菜羹是江南名菜。
Chúncài gēng shì Jiāngnán míngcài.
Water-shield soup is a famous Jiangnan dish.
莼鲈之思指思乡之情。
Chúnlúzhīsī zhǐ sīxiāng zhī qíng.
Longing for water shield and perch came to mean homesickness.

Tips

culture
Used only in 莼菜 (water shield). The idiom 莼鲈之思 — 'yearning for water-shield soup and perch' — became a classic image of longing for home, after a Jin-dynasty official who quit his post for these home flavors.

Components

radical
艹 cǎo
grass; plants
Grass radical on top, side form of 草. Water shield is an aquatic plant, so it takes the plant radical.
phonetic
纯 chún
pure; (here) sound
Below, 纯 supplies the sound chún; its 'pure' meaning has no role in the plant name.

Stroke Order

莼 chún