The Radical: 艹


Kanji-Trainer
Search:
 
Meaning
plant, grass    艹

Explanation Shows two plants growing through the ground, simple variation of 艸.

Used in these Kanji:
JLPT 5Joyo 1
flower
hana, KA
Top: plant, grass , bottom: to change (When a standing person is sitting down, this is a change.)
A plant that changes (when blooming) is: a flower.
JLPT 3Joyo 1
grass
kusa,
Top: a plant , bottom: early/fast (When the [rising ] sun is at the marked spot at the horizon , it is still early.)
The plant, that grows fast, is grass.
JLPT 4Joyo 2
tea
CHA, SA
From top: plant , person and tree
The plant where a person picks sth. from a 'tree', is the: tea.
JLPT 4Joyo 2
morning
asa, CHŌ
Left: sunrise (The sun rises between plants ), right: moon
At sunrise, the moon is still there: It is morning.
JLPT 3Joyo 3
load, package, baggage, freight
ni, KA
Top: plant , bottom: "what?" (Two persons , carrying a load with that bar , but "What?")
The plants are carried by the two persons with a bar on the shoulders as a load .
JLPT 3Joyo 3
bitter, pain, worries
nigai, kurushii, KU
Top: plant , bottom: old (image of a tomb stone)
Plants (or herbs) that are old, taste bitter.
JLPT 2Joyo 3
nose, snout
hana, BI
From top: self (The emphasized eye as the "self"), rice field , plant
(Because of hay fever:) I myself in a field with plants and it itches at my nose.
JLPT 4Joyo 3
medicine, drug
kusuri, YAKU
Top: plant , below: pleasure, joyful (white splashes in a tree )
A plant we can enjoy is medicine.
JLPT 3Joyo 3
leaf
ha,
From top: plant , world and tree
The plant's world at a tree are: The leaves.
JLPT 3Joyo 3
fall, drop, fail, decline
ochiru, RAKU
Top: plant , bottom: water , and each, all (With crossed legs on a cushion sits everybody.)
Plants (their leaves) and water(drops) all fall down.
JLPT 4Joyo 4
excellent, England, excel
EI
Top: plant , below: center (The yoke on the shoulders of the big man is centered.)
The plant in the center is excellent, as England.
JLPT 3Joyo 4
bud, seedling, sprout
me, GA
Top: plant , bottom: tusk (pictograph)
Plants and also tusks grow from a sprout.
JLPT 4Joyo 3
Han-China
KAN
Left: water , right: plant , mouth , husband/man (= big person with extra-caring arms )
Water and plants in the mouth of the husband from China.
JLPT 3Joyo 4
together, with
tomo, KYŌ
Top: plant , below: table
Put the plants on the table together.
JLPT 3Joyo 4
art, performance, skill
GEI
Top: plant , bottom: fog (cf. cloud )
A plant in the fog? That is art!
JLPT 4Joyo 4
vegetable, greens
na, SAI
Top: plant , below: to pluck/harvest (A hand reaches down into a tree )
Plants that are plucked are vegetables.
JLPT 3Joyo 4
fill, full
michiru, mitasu, MAN
Left: water , top: plant , below: both (image of a balance)
Water and plants: both make you (feel) filled.
JLPT 1Joyo 5
saveguard, defence, protect, defend, guard
GO
Left: word , right: (only as a radical) seize, snare (a plant weave to lure a bird underneath and grab it by hand )
(A convincing argument:) Words that seize/capture can protect you.
JLPT 2Joyo 5
equipment, prepare, possess
sonaeru/waru, BI
Left: person /, right: plant , cliff 广, use
The person picks up plants from the cliff for use as equipment.
JLPT 2Joyo 6
work, duty, serve
tsutomeru, KIN
Left: blooming plant (plant with 2 blossoms ロロ at growing plant ), right: strength/force
Blooming plants give me strength for my work.
JLPT 2Joyo 6
respect, honor, esteem
uyamau, KEI
Left: any, at all 苟 (plant , sentence, phrase [= sth. wrapped out the mouth ]), right: strike/hit (hand with stick )
A plant speaking a sentence can strike with respect.
JLPT 2Joyo 6
young, inexperienced, if
wakai, moshi, JAKU
Top: plant , bottom: right (This hand ナ/ feeds the mouth .) For the mnemnic think to the character "hard ": Things (like: herbs, vegetables, meat) with age get hard - Here however we have the opposite:
The plant that is put by hand ナ into the mouth is: young.
JLPT 2Joyo 6
steam, vapour, sultry
musu/reru,
From top: plant , child and water , fire
Like winding plants or splashing children, the water bubbles on the fire and it gets sultry from the steam.
JLPT 2Joyo 6
warehouse, storehouse
kura,
From top: plant , var. of halberd , retainer
At the plants a retainer with a halberd is at the warehouse.
JLPT 2Joyo 6
inner organs, entrails, viscera
harawata,
Left: body part /, right: warehouse (At the plants a retainer with a halberd guards the warehouse)
The body is the "warehouse" for the inner organs.
JLPT 2Joyo 6
remarkable, author, renowned
ichijirushii, arawasu, CHO
Top: plant , below: person (The old man shows in the sun his whole person)
Under the plant, is a person who is a remarkable author.
JLPT 2Joyo 6
difficult, troublesome
muzukashii, katai, NAN
Left: var. of Han China (Water and plants in the mouth of the husband from China) [But here missing: water ], right: bird
Han-China without water is for birds really: difficult!
JLPT 1Joyo 6
curtain, act
MAKU, BAKU
Top: sinking/going down (The sun is sinking among plants ,=), below: cloth [Watch out: Sunrise is: or ]
It is "sinking" (= hanging down): This cloth is a curtain.
JLPT 1Joyo 7
potato
imo,
Top: plant , bottom: dry (image of a drying rack)
A plant that grows (in contrast to rice) on the dry is the potato.
JLPT 1Joyo 7
splendor, flower, showy, China
hana, KA, GE
Top: growing plant, grass , below: plant with buds at the stem
The plant with many buds is a splendid flower from China.
JLPT 2Joyo 7
sweets, confectionary, fruit
KA
Top: plant , below: fruit/result (The 'fields' of the trees are their fruits.)
Vegetable (=vegetarian) fruits are used for sweets.
JLPT 1Joyo 7
harvest, crop
KAKU
Left: rice plant , right: (as a radical only) seize/lure into a trap (a plait/bind from plants to attract/lure a bird below for catching by hand )
Rice is seized (captured) during harvest.
JLPT 2Joyo 7
dry, to dry
kawaku, KAN
Left: sunrise (sun rises between plants ), right: horizontal person , odd/2nd: (two , written quickly, without pen's lifting)
By the sunrise the two odd persons get dry.
JLPT 1Joyo 7
tolerant, generous, magnanimous, relax
kutsurogu, KAN
From top: house , plant , see/look (= The eye is on legs when looking around.)
(A green roof where insects and perhaps bees may settle?) A roof made of plants is seen as: tolerant and generous.
JLPT 1Joyo 7
chrysanthemum
KIKU
From top: plant , wrap , rice
The plant that is first wrapped and then blossoms like the kanji for rice is: the chrysanthemum.
JLPT 1Joyo 7
bacteria, fungus, germ
KIN
Top: plant , bottom: 囷 (enclosure , rice plant )
A plant that is enclosed in a container like this rice plant, will be affected by bacteria.
JLPT 1Joyo 7
respectful, humble, reverently, circumspect, discreet
tsutsushimu, KIN
Left: word , right: blooming flower (plant with 2 blossoms ロロ at growing plant )
Words should be like blooming plants: respectful!
JLPT 1Joyo 7
fragrance, aroma, odour
kaori, KUN
From top: plant , heavy , fire Or: A heavy pot over the fire has its bottom black
When the plants in the heavy pot on the fire dye black, they spread a fragnance.
JLPT 1Joyo 7
stalk, stem
kuki, KEI
Top: plant , below: vertical (A hand is vertically above the ground )
The plant's vertical part is the stem.
JLPT 1Joyo 7
cocoon (of the silkworm)
mayu, KEN
Top: plant , below: cocoon with two chambers, inside: thread and insect
Under a plant, the thread of an insect forms: A cocoon.
JLPT 2Joyo 7
violent, wild, lay waste, rough
arai, areru/rasu,
From top: plant , dead (coffin in cross section), river
Plants are dying because the river is so violent.
JLPT 1Joyo 7
be confused, be flustered
awateru/tadashii,
Left: feeling , right: wild/rough/violent (Plants are dying when the river is so violent.)
My feeling when the plants are floating dead in the river is confusion. (Or: My feelings are that wild, that I am confused.)
JLPT 1Joyo 7
turf, grass, lawn
shiba,
Top: plant , below: a zigzag path
Plants grow aside of a path in the lawn.
JLPT 1Joyo 7
firewood, fagot
takigi, maki, SHIN
Top: plant , below: new (Out of a standing tree , the axe makes something new.)
Plants and standing trees are made by the axe into: firewood.
JLPT 1Joyo 7
recommend, advise, encourage
susumeru, komo, SEN
鹿
From top: plant , var. of deer 鹿 (originally a pictograph, but not discernible), variation of bird
(These animals are clever and do not eat anything poisonous:) Plants eaten by deers and birds can be recommended.
JLPT 1Joyo 7
villa, majestic, solemn
SŌ, SHŌ
Top: plant , bottom: robust (The bed of the samurai is robust.)
The plants look very robust in that villa.
JLPT 1Joyo 7
official, government service, companion, fellow
SŌ, ZŌ
From top: one (here: ground), bend (here: two sprouting plants || in a field ), sun
Such that the ground is broken up by 2 sprouts, the sun is needed: and a caring companion who serves like the 'government'.
JLPT 1Joyo 7
bury, funeral, interment
hōmuru,
Top & bottom: plant , middle: death (Below the earth are the bare bones of a sitting person )
Between the plants the dead are buried. (Or: Like a sunset of the dead is the: funeral.)
JLPT 1Joyo 7
encounter, meet, associate, join
au,
Left: movement , right: companion (Such that ground is broken up by 2 sprouts in the field , the sun is needed: and a caring companion.)
Companions need to move, if they want to encounter.
JLPT 1Joyo 7
tub, vat, container, tank

Left: tree , right: companion (Such that the ground is broken up by 2 sprouts in the field , the sun is needed: and a caring companion.)
It is wooden and for your companion: It's a tub or vat.
JLPT 1Joyo 7
waterweed, seaweed
mo,
Top: plant , below: to wash 澡 (water and bird's chirping [also: to gather] assemble (3 beaks of birds in a tree )
A plant in the water that is accumulating is: the seaweed.
JLPT 1Joyo 7
consent, agree, assent
DAKU
Left: word , right: young (The plant that is taken by hand into the mouth is young) [.. because old things are too hard for me]
(The youth is our future:) To the words of the youth can be agreed.
JLPT 1Joyo 7
lament, sigh, grieve, admire
nageku/kawashii, TAN
Left: mouth , right: var. of China (Water and plants in the mouth of the husband from China) [But water is missing]
Mouths in a waterless China are lamenting.
JLPT 1Joyo 7
accumulate, store, save, keep
takuwaeru, CHIKU
Top: plant , below: livestock (Use a mysterious [= barren] field for beeding livestock) [cf. magnet ]
Plants for raising livestock should be accumulated as a store.
JLPT 2Joyo 7
tower, monument, pagoda

Left: earth , right: plant and: to fit (lid fits on pot )
(fiber-reinforced composite FRC) Earth must be reinforced with plant fiber in a fitting way, when you build a pagoda.
JLPT 1Joyo 7
bording (air passenger), to load, get into

Left hand , right: 荅 (plant [here: handrail], fit (Here: as the image of an airplane with cockpit and corpus )
The hand at a handrail of the airplane when bording.
JLPT 1Joyo 7
conceal, hide, shelter
TOKU
Outside: box , inside: young (The plant that is taken by hand into the mouth is young) [.. because old things are too hard for me]
In the box a 'young' is concealing.
JLPT 2Joyo 7
diluted, thin/weak (taste), shallow, light, faint
usui/maru/meru, HAKU
Top: plant , below: water and: var. of wholly/exclusive (The soil is penetrated by a (sole) sprout in the rice field , cared for by a skillful hand , which is exclusive.)
(i.e. tomatoes taste often watery) Plants with water can be wholly diluted, or weak in taste.
JLPT 1Joyo 7
desert, vague, vast, wide
BAKU
Left: water , right: sink, go down (The sun is sinking among plants ,) [Watch-out: sunrise is: or ]
Where the water has 'sunk', it is now a desert.
JLPT 1Joyo 7
feudal domain, fief, clan
HAN
Top: plant , bottom: water , number, watch, guard (The ripe rice plants (= rice plant + rice grain ) on the field is numbered and needs to be guarded.)
Plants are watered and guarded in the fief (= domain of the clain).
JLPT 1Joyo 7
seedling, young plant, sapling
nae, nawa, BYŌ, MYŌ
Top: plant, grass , below: field
The plants (still as small as grass) on the field are seedlings.
JLPT 1Joyo 7
depict, draw, sketch
egaku, BYŌ
Left: hand , right: seedling (= This plant [still as small] as grass on the field )
(A field with seedlings planted neatly in rows looks beautiful:) If the hand arranges the plants/seedling in the field (in such rows), it looks like being depicted.
JLPT 2Joyo 7
cat
neko, BYŌ, MYŌ
Left: wild animal (dog on hind legs), right: seedling (= The plant [that is still as small] as grass on the field )
The animal in the seedlings is a cat.
JLPT 1Joyo 7
eruption, emit, spout, flush out
fuku, FUN
Left: mouth, opening , right: (ten , plant ), shell/money
Out of the opening, ten plants and money were flushed out at the eruption.
JLPT 1Joyo 7
(burial-)mound, grave, tomb
FUN
Left: earth , right: (ten , plant ), shell/money
Earth, ten plants and money are needed for: a burial mound.
JLPT 1Joyo 7
rage, aroused, indignant, anger
ikidōru, FUN
Left: feeling , right: (ten , plant ), shell/money
He has feelings about the 10 plants costing that (much) money: He is in rage.
JLPT 2Joyo 7
recruit (employees), enlistings, raise (funds)
tsunoru, BO
Top: sinking, going down (The sun is sinking among plants ,=), below: strength/effort [Watch out: Sunrise is: or ]
With sinking strength we need (more) recruiting.
JLPT 1Joyo 7
yearn for, adore, pine, love dearly
shitau, BO
Top: sinking/going down (The sun is sinking among plants ,), below: heart [Watch out: Sunrise is: or ]
Like a sinking heart: That's yearning.
JLPT 2Joyo 6
live, sunset, end, life circumstances
kureru/rasu, BO
Top: sinking/going down (The sun is sinking among plants ,=), bottom: sun [Notice: means sunrise such as in 'morning ']
The sinking sun means sunset. [OR: The plants needed from one sun to the next big sun are the life circumstances.]
JLPT 1Joyo 7
fragrance, pleasant-smell, perfume
kanbashii,
Top: plant, grass , below: side
Plants (spread it) to the sides: Fragrance.
JLPT 1Joyo 7
rush, run quickly, bustle, gush
HON
Top: big , below (ten , plant )
The big person is thirty-fold quick when: rushing away.
JLPT 1Joyo 7
membrane
MAKU
Left: part of body /, right: sink, go down (Here: =2x10, = image of a membrane and = big part)
The body's part, that separates 20 parts by a membrane from the big part is a: membrane.
JLPT 2Joyo 5
dream, vision
yume, MU
From top: plant , eye , cover , evening
With plants the eyes are covered in the evening: then come the dreams.
JLPT 1Joyo 7
grow thickly, thicket, overgrown
shigeru, MO
Top: plant , below: halberd with additions
Plants need to be cut with halberds, if they grew too thickly.
JLPT -Joyo 7
wither, weaken, wilt, droop
naeru, I
Top: plant , bottom: to entrust (Rice plant can women be entrusted.)
The plants I entrusted you, are all withered.
JLPT -Joyo 7
thorn, spine
ibara,
Top: plant , below: next (ice is lacking , what comes next?)
If a plant has those, I (or better the goats) go to the next: Those are the thorns.
JLPT -Joyo 7
torment, severe, brutal, to bully, to tease, cruel
KA
Top: grass/plant , bottom: possibility (The nail into this opening should be possible.)
(Is this related to weed or cannabis) "Grass" can be brutal.
JLPT -Joyo 7
cover, lid, cap
futa, GAI
From top: grass/plant , leave (Below the earth is the nose , that left), plate
The grass must leave the plate and then cover it with a lid/cap.
JLPT -Joyo 7
kudzu (Pueraria montana), arrowroot
kuzu, katsu
Top: plant , below: Variant of 'good' (sun with rays , with: person , angle ∟
The plant which the person planted in a sunny corner is this climbing vines: kudzu.
JLPT -Joyo 7
only, just, merely, a few, a tiny bit
wazuka, KIN
Left: person , right: blooming flower (plant with 2 blossoms ロロ at growing plant )
A person (watches) a blowing flower: How can this be only a tiny bit?
JLPT -Joyo 7
wick (of a candle), core, center
SHIN
Top: plant , bottom: heart
Plants have a "heart" (=inner fibers), that is used as a wick.
JLPT -Joyo 7
wisteria (bot.)
fuji,
From top: plant , imperial WE (A body / out of the heaven : that is Us), water
The plant that is imperial and appears like flowing water: the wisteria.
JLPT -Joyo 7
cover, overlay
HEI
Top: grass/plant , bottom: shabby (.. when the cloth broke into four small pieces due to strikes ) [ = hand with stick ]
On the lawn, four bits of cloth are (spread) with the stick in the hand: As a cover.
JLPT -Joyo 7
neglect, ignore, disprize, disesteem
sagesumu, BETSU
From top: grass/plant , eye (With the pupil ロ in the center), garrison 戍 (= The persons (= & ) at the halberds )
(When crossing the border illegally, you need to crawl lying flat.) If your eyes are below the grass, the garrison will neglect you, but also might despise you.
JLPT -Joyo 7
indigo
RAN, ai
Top: plant , bottom: to watch, supervise (The retainer and a lying person are mirrored in the plate they supervise / observe.)
(It's used for dyeing:) The plant that "supervises" is the: indigo blue.

Similar Radicals (either meaning or appearance)

At this page you get the memory phrases for learning the Japanese Kanji. If you are learning the Chinese Hanzi, please follow this link.


List of the characters | List of the radials

To the Trainer