adjective

Meanings

  1. 1 lush; luxuriant (of grass)

Examples

HSK 7-9
河边芳草萋萋
Hébiān fāngcǎo qīqī.
By the riverside the fragrant grass grows thick and green.
HSK 7-9
荒园野草萋萋
Huāngyuán lǐ yěcǎo qīqī.
Lush grass covered the abandoned garden.

Tips

culture
Almost always doubled as 萋萋 in classical poetry for thick, green grass - famously in lines about parting, where lush grass stretching into the distance mirrors endless longing.

Components

radical
cǎo
grass; plants
Grass radical on top, side form of . The character describes grass growing thick and green, so the plant radical carries the meaning directly.
phonetic
wife
Below, supplies the sound qī; its own 'wife' meaning has no role in the picture of dense grass.

Stroke Order