萊 (lái) - Chenopodium album (lamb's quarters/goosefoot plant) & overgrown with weeds

萊Tone 2

lái ｜ 11 strokes ｜ radical:

俊梁

萊 · lái

Chenopodium album (lamb's quarters/goosefoot plant);

overgrown with weeds;

uncultivated land;

used in place names and transliterations.

Chenopodium album (lamb's quarters/goosefoot plant)overgrown with weedsuncultivated land

Usage highlights

Lai stategoosefoot plantuncultivated landLaiwu cityLaiyang cityPenglai

Synonyms

  • 藜— lamb's quarters (similar edible weed)
  • 荒— wasteland, uncultivated

Antonyms

  • 耕— cultivated, plowed
  • 田— field, farmland

Usage & contexts

Examples

  • The field was overgrown with goosefoot (萊菔).
  • They cleared the uncultivated land (萊田).
  • This is a type of edible wild plant (萊菔).
  • The ancient state of Lai (萊國) existed during the Zhou dynasty.

Collocations

  • Lai state(萊國)
  • goosefoot plant(萊菔)
  • uncultivated land(萊田)
  • Laiwu city(萊蕪)
  • Laiyang city(萊陽)
  • Penglai(蓬萊)

Idioms

  • Penglai Immortal Island(蓬萊仙島)
  • The Penglai Fairyland(蓬萊仙境)
  • Clearing weeds and thorns(闢萊除荊)

Cultural background

FAQ
  • Originally referred to the goosefoot plant, a common weed in ancient China.
  • By extension, came to mean uncultivated or weedy land.
  • Used in the name of the ancient state of Lai during the Zhou dynasty.
  • Appears in mythological place names like Penglai, the fairy island in Chinese mythology.

FAQ