苓 (líng): fungus, tuber

苓 (líng) is a Chinese character meaning “fungus.” Outside the HSK 3.0 syllabus (CLEC 2022), it is composed of 艹 (semantic) and 令 (phonetic). It ranks #9999 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Etymologically derived, 苓 plant. Its radical form 艹 (grass) appears in many related characters such as 蒸 (zhēng, to steam), 草 (cǎo, grass), 花 (huā, flower).

Spoken pronunciation
Radical: 艹 grass8 strokesFrequency #9999艹 semantic令 phonetic

Definitions

  1. fungus
  2. tuber

Etymology & Origin

苓

pictophoneticplant

Decomposition: ⿱艹令 (layout: top-bottom)

Components:艹semantic令phonetic

Stroke Order

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

Practice writing 苓 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.

Words & Compounds

Common Compounds

WordPinyinMeaning
五苓散wǔ líng sǎnwuling powder (decoction of poria mushroom used in TCM)
苓雅区líng yǎ qūLingya district of Kaohsiung city 高雄市, south Taiwan
苦苓kǔ língchinaberry (Melia azedarach)
苓雅proper-nounlíng yǎLingya district of Kaohsiung city 高雄市, south Taiwan
猪苓nounzhū língporia mushroom (Polyporus umbellatus)
茯苓fú língWolfiporia extensa (a wood-decay fungus)
龟苓膏nounguī líng gāoturtle jelly, medicine made with powdered turtle shell and herbs
7
Total compounds
29
As first character
43
As last character
29
As middle character

苓 appears in 7 compound words: 29 as the first character, 43 as the last, and 29 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.

Example Sentences

中国新闻网·生活Sep 2026

脾胃偏弱的民众，可以适量吃山药、茯苓等健脾食材。

pí wèi piān ruò de mín zhòng , kě yǐ shì liàng chī shān yào , fú líng děng jiàn pí shí cái .

People with a weak spleen and stomach can eat moderate amounts of spleen-strengthening foods such as Chinese yam and poria.

中国新闻网·生活Aug 2026

功效：山药健脾养胃，茯苓祛湿益气。

gōng xiào : shān yào jiàn pí yǎng wèi , fú líng qū shī yì qì .

Benefits: Chinese yam strengthens the spleen and nourishes the stomach, while poria removes dampness and boosts qi.

中国新闻网·文化May 2026

巍巍大先生：五月在天津读懂张伯苓

巍 巍 dà xiān shēng : wǔ yuè zài tiān jīn dú dǒng zhāng bó líng

The Great Master Weiwei: Understanding Zhang Boling in Tianjin This May

中国新闻网·生活Apr 2026

推荐陈皮茯苓山药粥。

tuī jiàn chén pí fú líng shān yào zhōu .

We recommend congee made with dried tangerine peel, poria, and Chinese yam.

Character Family

Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 艹 (plant) component

英yīng落luò苦kǔ药yào莱lái苏sū范fàn藏zàng草cǎo艺yì

Related Characters

蒸zhēng草cǎo花huā茶chá菜cài药yào苦kǔ落luò蓝lán节jié

Homophones — Characters pronounced líng

零líng龄líng铃líng玲líng聆líng泠líng

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 苓 (líng) mean in Chinese?
苓 (líng) primarily means "fungus." It is not part of the HSK 3.0 syllabus. It ranks #9999 in character frequency.
What's the difference between 苓 and 冷?
苓 (líng) and 冷 (lěng) are often confused. confusable. The key distinguishing feature: 艹 vs 冫 (same 令 component).
How many strokes does 苓 have?
苓 is written with 8 strokes. The correct stroke order matters for recognition and handwriting speed — practice with the animated guide above to build proper technique.
What is the radical of 苓?
The radical associated with 苓 is 艹 (grass). This radical appears in many characters related to grass.
What are the components of 苓?
苓 is composed of: 艹 (semantic), 令 (phonetic). Its IDS decomposition is ⿱艹令 with a top-bottom layout. Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.
What are common words containing 苓?
Common words with 苓 include: 五苓散 (wǔ líng sǎn, "wuling powder (decoction of poria mushroom used in TCM)"); 苓雅区 (líng yǎ qū, "Lingya district of Kaohsiung city 高雄市, south Taiwan"); 苦苓 (kǔ líng, "chinaberry (Melia azedarach)"); 苓雅 (líng yǎ, "Lingya district of Kaohsiung city 高雄市, south Taiwan"); 猪苓 (zhū líng, "poria mushroom (Polyporus umbellatus)"). There are over 7 compound words containing this character.
What characters sound the same as 苓 (líng)?
Several characters share the pronunciation líng: 零 (zero), 龄 (age), 铃 (bell), 玲 ((onom.) ting-a-ling (in compounds such as 玎玲 or 玲瓏|玲珑)), and 2 more. Context and tones help distinguish between them in speech and writing.
Is 苓 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Yes, 苓 is written the same way in both simplified and traditional Chinese.

Practice writing 苓 with real-time feedback

Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.

Download on theApp StoreGet it onGoogle Play

Character data sourced from Unihan (Unicode Consortium), SUBTLEX-CH frequency corpus (Cai & Brysbaert, 2010), and Make Me a Hanzi (stroke data). Collocation strength measured via NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information). Verified by the HanziFeed linguistics team.

HSK classification follows the HSK 3.0 Standard (Center for Language Education and Cooperation, CLEC, 2022 revision). Idiom data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Data last verified: March 2026.