蒲葵

púkuí

noun

Measure Word

一棵蒲葵 kē

Meanings

1 Chinese fan palm (Livistona chinensis)
2 the palm whose leaves are used to make traditional fans

Characters

sunflower; mallow-family plant

Examples

南方街边常种着高大的蒲葵。

Nánfāng jiē biān cháng zhòngzhe gāodà de púkuí.

Tall Chinese fan palms are commonly planted along southern streets.

外婆有一把老蒲葵扇，用了几十年。

Wàipó yǒu yī bǎ lǎo púkuí shàn, yòngle jǐshí nián.

Grandma has an old palm-leaf fan she's used for decades.

Tips

culture

The dried leaves are split, trimmed, and bound to make 蒲扇 (pú-shàn) — the cheap, sturdy fan that defined pre-air-conditioning summers in southern China. Jiangmen's Xinhui district (新会 Xīn-huì) in Guangdong has been the historical center of palm-leaf fan craft for over 600 years.

Stroke Order

蒲 pú

葵 kuí