苇 (wěi): reed

Measure Word

一根芦苇 gēn

Meanings

1 reed
2 rush
3 Phragmites communis (common reed plant)

Characters

苇

wěi

reed; rush

Examples

湖边的芦苇随风摇曳。

Húbiān de lúwěi suí fēng yáoyè.

The reeds by the lake swayed in the wind.

芦苇荡里有很多水鸟筑巢。

Lúwěi dàng lǐ yǒu hěnduō shuǐ niǎo zhúcháo.

Many water birds nest in the reed marshes.

Tips

usage

苇 usually appears in 芦苇 (lúwěi, common reed). Alone, 苇 is a bound form. The reed plant is common in Chinese wetlands and poetry, symbolizing resilience in the wind.

Components

radical

艹 cǎo

grass; plant (top radical)

Top three-stroke grass radical — the indexing radical. Marks 苇 as a plant: specifically a reed, the tall grass that grows in shallow water at lake edges. Anchors it in the botanical family with 草, 花, 茎.

phonetic

韦 wéi

soft leather; tanned hide

Bottom 韦 supplies the sound — wéi shifted slightly to wěi. Same phonetic appears in 围 (enclose), 伟 (great), 违 (disobey). The 'leather' meaning is unused here; 韦 is pure phonetic duty. The classical phrase 韦编三绝 (the leather bindings broke three times) hints at why this phonetic was reachable — both reeds and leather were everyday materials.