蒲葵

púkuí

noun

Measure Word

一棵蒲葵 kē

Meanings

1 Chinese fan palm (Livistona chinensis)
2 the palm whose leaves are used to make traditional fans

Characters

sunflower; mallow-family plant

Examples

HSK 5

南方街边常种着高大的蒲葵。

Nánfāng jiē biān cháng zhòng zhe gāodà de púkuí.

Tall Chinese fan palms are commonly planted along southern streets.

HSK 7-9

外婆有一把老蒲葵扇，用了几十年。

Wàipó yǒu yī bǎ lǎo púkuí shàn, yòng le jǐshí nián.

Grandma has an old palm-leaf fan she's used for decades.

Tips

culture

The dried leaves are split, trimmed, and bound to make 蒲扇 (pú-shàn), the cheap, sturdy fan that defined pre-air-conditioning summers in southern China. Jiangmen's Xinhui district (新会 Xīn-huì) in Guangdong has been the historical center of palm-leaf fan craft for over 600 years.

Stroke Order

蒲 pú

葵 kuí