茹 (rú): surname Ru, to eat, (extended meaning) to endure

茹 (rú) is a Chinese character meaning “to eat.” Outside the HSK 3.0 syllabus (CLEC 2022), it is composed of 艹 (semantic) and 如 (phonetic). It ranks #3816 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Etymologically derived, 茹 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 grass9 strokesFrequency #3816艹 semantic 如 phonetic

Definitions

surname Ru
to eat
(extended meaning) to endure

Etymology & Origin

茹

pictophoneticplant

Decomposition: ⿱艹如 (layout: top-bottom)

Components:艹semantic 如phonetic

Stroke Order

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

Words & Compounds

Common Compounds

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
含辛茹苦phrase	hán xīn rú kǔ	to suffer every possible torment (idiom)
茹毛饮血phrase	rú máo yǐn xuè	devour raw meat and fowl (of savages)
拔毛连茹	bá máo lián rú	variant of 拔茅連茹\|拔茅连茹
茹苦含辛	rú kǔ hán xīn	see 含辛茹苦
茹古涵今	rú gǔ hán jīn	to take in (old and new experiences and sorrows)
饭糗茹草	fàn qiǔ rú cǎo	(lit.) to live on dry provisions and wild herbs (idiom)
茹痛	rú tòng	to endure (suffering or sorrow)
梁静茹	liáng jìng rú	Fish Leong (1978–), Malaysian pop singer
茹素verb	rú sù	to eat a vegetarian diet
茹志鹃	rú zhì juān	Ru Zhijuan (1925-1998), female novelist and politician
茹鱼	rú yú	putrid fish
拔茅连茹	bá máo lián rú	lit. pull up a plant and the roots follow (idiom)
菜茹	cài rú	greens
茹荤饮酒	rú hūn yǐn jiǔ	to eat meat and drink wine
竹茹noun	zhú rú	bamboo shavings (Bambusa tuldoides) used in Chinese medicine

Total compounds

As first character

As last character

As middle character

茹 appears in 17 compound words: 59 as the first character, 29 as the last, and 12 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.

Idioms & Chengyu (7)

拔毛连茹bá máo lián rú

variant of 拔茅連茹|拔茅连茹

phrase

含辛茹苦hánxīnrúkǔ

to suffer untold hardships (to bring up one's child); to endure sufferings

phrase

茹古涵今rú gǔ hán jīn

to take in (old and new experiences and sorrows)

phrase

茹苦含辛rú kǔ hán xīn

see 含辛茹苦

phrase

茹毛饮血rúmáoyǐnxuè

to consume raw animal meat with its hair and blood unremoved; to live a primitive life

phrase

饭糗茹草fàn qiǔ rú cǎo

(lit.) to live on dry provisions and wild herbs (idiom); (fig.) to live in abject poverty

phrase

Showing 6 of 7 idioms containing 茹.

Example Sentences

中国新闻网·文化Oct 2026

孙琳茹摄选择杭州，郭培说是因“缘”。

sūn lín rú shè xuǎn zé háng zhōu , guō péi shuō shì yīn yuán .

Photo by Sun Linru. Guo Pei says he chose Hangzhou because of “fate.”

中国新闻网·文化Sep 2026

茹峰建议，少年习画，不必强求作品成熟度与技法完整性。

rú fēng jiàn yì , shǎo nián xí huà , bù bì qiáng qiú zuò pǐn chéng shú dù yǔ jì fǎ wán zhěng xìng .

Ru Feng suggests that when young people are learning to paint, there is no need to insist on maturity in their work or technical perfection.

中国新闻网·文化Aug 2026

孙琳茹摄千年之后，吴越历史价值持续被发掘。

sūn lín rú shè qiān nián zhī hòu , wú yuè lì shǐ jià zhí chí xù bèi fā jué .

Photo by Sun Linru. Even after a thousand years, the historical significance of the Wu-Yue period continues to be uncovered.

中国新闻网·文化Aug 2026

孙琳茹摄近年来，衣锦城的考古工作取得了一系列重要突破。

sūn lín rú shè jìn nián lái , yī jǐn chéng de kǎo gǔ gōng zuò qǔ dé le yī xì liè chóng yào tū pò .

Photo by Sun Linru. In recent years, archaeological work at Yijincheng has yielded a series of significant breakthroughs.

中国新闻网·体育Jul 2026

魏溪玥摄冯月茹来自湖北省，此次代表云南省代表队参赛。

wèi xī 玥 shè féng yuè rú lái zì hú běi shěng , cǐ cì dài biǎo yún nán shěng dài biǎo duì cān sài .

Photo by Wei Xiyue. Feng Yueyu is from Hubei Province and is competing as a member of the Yunnan Province team.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 茹 (rú) mean in Chinese?

茹 (rú) primarily means "to eat." It is not part of the HSK 3.0 syllabus. It ranks #3816 in character frequency.

What's the difference between 茹 and 恕?

茹 (rú) and 恕 (shù) are often confused. confusable. The key distinguishing feature: 艹 vs 忄 (same 如 component).

How many strokes does 茹 have?

茹 is written with 9 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 茹?

The radical associated with 茹 is 艹 (grass). This radical appears in many characters related to grass.

What are the components of 茹?

茹 is composed of: 艹 (semantic), 如 (phonetic). Its IDS decomposition is ⿱艹如 with a top-bottom layout. Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.

What are common words containing 茹?

Common words with 茹 include: 含辛茹苦 (hán xīn rú kǔ, "to suffer every possible torment (idiom)"); 茹毛饮血 (rú máo yǐn xuè, "devour raw meat and fowl (of savages)"); 拔毛连茹 (bá máo lián rú, "variant of 拔茅連茹|拔茅连茹"); 茹苦含辛 (rú kǔ hán xīn, "see 含辛茹苦"); 茹古涵今 (rú gǔ hán jīn, "to take in (old and new experiences and sorrows)"). There are over 17 compound words containing this character.

Is 茹 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?

Yes, 茹 is written the same way in both simplified and traditional Chinese.

Practice writing 茹 with real-time feedback

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