蒹 (jiān) · young reed not yet in ear, used in 蒹葭

Meanings

HSK 7-9

蒹葭苍苍，白露为霜。

Jiān jiā cāng cāng, báilù wéi shuāng.

The reeds are grey-green; the white dew turns to frost.

history

蒹 is not used alone in modern Chinese. It survives almost only in the literary word 蒹葭 (reeds), the famous opening image of a 诗经 poem about longing.

register

Literary and classical; everyday Chinese uses 芦苇 for reeds.

radical

艹 cǎo

grass; plant

艹 is the grass radical, a top-form of 草, marking the character as a reed-like water plant.

phonetic

兼 jiān

to combine; double

兼 supplies the sound jiān exactly; it is the same phonetic in 谦 and 嫌.

蒹 jiān