蔓

màn
noun #15,209

Meanings

  1. 1 creeper; vine; tendril
  2. 2 to spread; to extend

Examples

HSK 5
Qiángshàng pá mǎn le màn.
The wall was covered with creeping vines.
HSK 7-9
Yěhuǒ mànyán dào le shānshàng.
The wildfire spread to the mountain.

Tips

usage
蔓 has two readings: màn (creeper; to spread) and mán (only in 蔓菁, turnip). The compound 蔓延 means 'to spread/extend' and is commonly used for fire, disease, or influence.

Components

radical
艹 cǎo
grass; plant (top radical)
Top grass radical, the compressed 3-stroke form of 艸. It indexes 蔓 in the plant family: 花 flower, 草 grass, 茎 stem, 藤 vine, 萝 trailing creeper. 蔓 specifically names the long trailing stems of climbing plants - vines, runners, tendrils - so the radical does precise semantic work, marking this as botanical rather than abstract.
phonetic
曼 màn
graceful; long-drawn-out
Bottom 曼 supplies the sound directly: màn. Same phonetic powers 漫 overflow, 慢 slow, 馒 steamed bun, 谩 deceive. 曼 itself depicts a hand pulling something long and drawn out - the perfect semantic echo for a vine, which is precisely a plant stem stretched out across the ground in slow expansion.

Stroke Order

蔓 màn