荠 (qí): water chestnut (used in 荸荠)

Meanings

荸荠又甜又脆，生吃很好。

Bíqí yòu tián yòu cuì, shēng chī hěn hǎo.

Water chestnuts are sweet and crunchy, good eaten raw.

妈妈在厨房削荸荠。

Māma zài chúfáng xiāo bíqí.

Mom is peeling water chestnuts in the kitchen.

usage

The 荠 reading is bound — it appears almost only in 荸荠, the water chestnut. For the spring wild green use the 荠 reading instead.

radical

艹 cǎo

grass; plant

Top is the grass radical 艹 — the side form of 草. It marks the character as a plant, here a leafy edible herb.

phonetic

齐 qí

even; together (phonetic)

Below is 齐, supplying the sound (kept in the qí reading; shifted to jì in 荠菜). The same phonetic appears in 济 and 剂.

荠 qí