蔻

kòu

noun

Meanings

豆蔻是一种常用的香料。

Dòukòu shì yì zhǒng chángyòng de xiāngliào.

Cardamom is a commonly used aromatic spice.

诗里用豆蔻年华形容十三岁左右的少女。

Shī lǐ yòng dòukòu niánhuá xíngróng shísān suì zuǒyòu de shàonǚ.

The poem uses 'cardamom age' to describe a girl of about thirteen.

culture

Lives in 豆蔻 (cardamom) and 肉豆蔻 (nutmeg). The set phrase 豆蔻年华 borrows the budding spice flower as a poetic image for a girl in her early teens.

radical

艹 cǎo

grass; plant (top form)

Top grass radical 艹, marking 蔻 as a plant — here an aromatic spice plant.

phonetic

寇 kòu

bandit; invader

Below the grass top, 寇 supplies the sound kòu. Its own meaning, 'bandit', plays no part here — it is purely the phonetic in 豆蔻.

蔻 kòu