(cǎo) - Grass radical — a pictographic character representing grass & primarily used as a radical in Chinese characters.

Tone 3

cǎo | 3 strokes | radical: 艹

· cǎo

Grass radical — a pictographic character representing grass or plants;

primarily used as a radical in Chinese characters.

Grass radical — a pictographic character representing grassprimarily used as a radical in Chinese characters.

Usage highlights

Grass radicalCao radicalPlant radicalHerb radicalVegetation radical

Synonyms

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • This is the grass radical (草字头).
  • Many plant-related characters contain this radical (草部).
  • It appears at the top of characters like 花 (flower) and 草 (grass).

Collocations

  • Grass radical(草字头)
  • Cao radical(艹部)
  • Plant radical(植物部首)
  • Herb radical(草药部首)
  • Vegetation radical(草木部首)

Idioms

  • The grass radical appears in many plant names(草木皆兵)
  • Characters with grass radical often relate to vegetation(草长莺飞)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • One of the most common radicals in Chinese characters, appearing in over 1,000 characters.
  • Originally a pictograph of two blades of grass growing from the ground.
  • Indicates characters related to plants, herbs, vegetation, and sometimes things made from plants.

FAQ