葛 (gé): kudzu

Meanings

1 kudzu
2 a type of vine plant
3 a surname (Ge)

Characters

葛

gé

kudzu; vine plant; surname

Examples

葛的根可以入药。

Gé de gēn kěyǐ rù yào.

The root of kudzu can be used as medicine.

他姓葛。

Tā xìng Gé.

His surname is Ge.

Tips

culture

葛根 (kudzu root) is widely used in traditional Chinese medicine and cooking, often made into 葛根粉 (kudzu starch).

register

The kudzu plant is read gé. As a surname it is read Gě, including the compound surname 诸葛 (Zhūgě), as in the strategist 诸葛亮 (Zhūgě Liàng).

Components

radical

艹 cǎo

grass radical

Top radical 艹 is the grass/plant form of 草, signaling that 葛 is a botanical term — kudzu, a climbing vine whose root and fibre were both used in ancient China for cloth and herbal tea. Same radical groups 葛 with 茶 (tea), 草 (grass), 花 (flower) and most plant names.

phonetic

曷 hé

how; why (classical)

Bottom phonetic 曷 supplies the sound — hé shifted to gé through onset hardening, a regular pattern in this series. Recognising 曷 unlocks 喝 (hē, drink), 渴 (kě, thirsty), 褐 (hè, brown), 揭 (jiē, lift) — a fertile phonetic family worth memorising.