菱 (líng): water caltrop; water chestnut

Meanings

1 water caltrop; water chestnut
2 rhombus; diamond shape

Characters

菱

líng

water caltrop; rhombus

Examples

HSK 7-9

秋天村民划船去湖里采菱角。

Qiūtiān cūnmín huáchuán qù hú lǐ cǎi língjiao.

In autumn the villagers go out on the lake to gather water caltrops.

HSK 7-9

这地板的瓷砖拼成了菱形。

Zhè dìbǎn de cízhuān pīn chéng le língxíng.

The tiles on this floor are laid in a diamond pattern.

Tips

usage

菱 names the water caltrop, an aquatic plant whose horned nut is 菱角. Because that nut is diamond-shaped, 菱形 came to mean a rhombus.

Components

radical

艹 cǎo

grass; plant (radical form)

Top grass radical 艹, the cap form of 草. It marks 菱 as a plant, here the aquatic water-caltrop.

phonetic

夌 líng

to dawdle

Below sits 夌, which supplies the sound líng exactly. The same phonetic kernel appears in 陵 (hill) and 凌 (ice).

Stroke Order

菱 líng

Related Words

菱角 língjiao

water caltrop / water chestnut (Trapa)

菱形 língxíng #25,275

rhombus / diamond shape / lozenge

三菱 Sānlíng #52,036

Mitsubishi (Japanese conglomerate; in automotive context, Mitsubishi Motors)

冲 chōng HSK 4 #809

(of water) to dash against / to mix with water; to infuse / to rinse; to flush / to develop (film) / to rise (in the air) / to clash; to collide

凉水 liángshuǐ HSK 3 #30,123

cold water; cool water / unboiled water

热水 rèshuǐ HSK 6 #7,080

hot water; boiled water

水面 shuǐmiàn HSK 7-9 #7,805

water surface / surface of the water

流水 liúshuǐ HSK 7-9 #10,916

flowing water / running water / turnover (business)

节水 jiéshuǐ HSK 7-9 #76,446

to save water; to conserve water

捞 lāo HSK 7-9 #6,006

to scoop up from water; to fish out / to grab; to get (profit, benefit)