菈 is a rare character used almost exclusively in transliterations of foreign names, functioning like 拉. It appears in names like 乌苏菈 (Ursula) and 乔菈 (Jorah). The grass radical 艹 gives it a softer, more feminine feel for female names.
Top grass radical, the three-stroke compressed form of 艸. Indexes 菈 in the botanical family alongside 花 flower, 草 grass, 菜 vegetable. Marks this rare character as plant-related in classification, though in practice 菈 surfaces almost only in phonetic transliterations rather than botanical names.
Bottom 立 supplies the sound: lì shifted to lā with vowel and tone change. The standing, upright imagery of 立 doesn't transfer; it's borrowed purely as a sound match. The same 立 phonetic powers 拉 to pull (lā) and 垃 garbage (lā), all sharing this lì-to-lā shift used in modern transliteration coinages.
No stroke data for 菈; the glyph shown is your device font, so component strokes can't be highlighted.
