莚 (yán) - A type of plant & to spread or extend (archaic usage).

莚Tone 2

yán ｜ 9 strokes ｜ radical: 艹

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莚 · yán

A type of plant;

to spread or extend (archaic usage).

A type of plantto spread or extend (archaic usage).

Usage highlights

莚蔓野莚莚草莚地莚延

Synonyms

  • 蔓— vine, creeper
  • 延— extend, prolong

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • The wild vines spread across the ground (野莚蔓延).
  • In ancient texts, it described plants covering an area (莚地).
  • A rare character used in botanical contexts (莚草).

Collocations

  • yan2 man4(莚蔓)
  • ye3 yan2(野莚)
  • yan2 cao3(莚草)
  • yan2 di4(莚地)
  • yan2 yan2(莚延)

Idioms

  • describing a situation difficult to manage(莚蔓难图 (yan2 man4 nan2 tu2) - Vines spreading, hard to control)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • Primarily appears in classical Chinese texts describing plant growth.
  • Rarely used in modern Chinese, mainly of interest to scholars and character enthusiasts.
  • The character combines the grass radical with the phonetic component 延 (extend), suggesting spreading vegetation.

FAQ