蘑 (mó): mushroom (in 蘑菇)

Meanings

我们在山里采了很多野蘑菇。

Wǒmen zài shān lǐ cǎi le hěnduō yě mógu.

We picked many wild mushrooms in the mountains.

蘑菇炒鸡肉很好吃。

Mógu chǎo jīròu hěn hǎochī.

Stir-fried chicken with mushrooms is delicious.

usage

蘑 only appears in 蘑菇 (mushroom). As a verb, 蘑菇 can also mean to dawdle or pester someone slowly.

radical

艹 cǎo

grass; plant

The grass radical 艹 marks 蘑 as a fungus, grouped with plants since mushrooms grow from the ground like one.

phonetic

磨 mó

to grind; millstone

磨 (to grind) supplies the sound mó exactly and carries no meaning here, serving as the phonetic part.

蘑 mó