蒜 (suàn): garlic, CL:頭|头,瓣

蒜 (suàn) is a Chinese character meaning “garlic.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 艹 (semantic) and 祘 (phonetic). It ranks #2915 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Etymologically derived, 蒜 herb. Its radical form 艹 (grass) appears in many related characters such as 花 (huā, flower), 茶 (chá, tea), 菜 (cài, vegetable, dish).

Spoken pronunciation

Definitions

  1. garlic
  2. CL:頭|头,瓣

Etymology & Origin

蒜

pictophoneticherb

Decomposition: ⿱艹祘 (layout: top-bottom)

Stroke Order

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13

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

Words & Compounds

Common Compounds

WordPinyinMeaning
大蒜noundà suàngarlic
装蒜verbzhuāng suànto act stupid
鸡毛蒜皮phrasejī máo suàn pílit. chicken feathers and garlic skins (idiom)
蒜头nounsuàn tóugarlic bulb
蒜泥nounsuàn níthoroughly mashed or minced garlic
石蒜nounshí suànred spider lily (Lycoris radiata)
青蒜nounqīng suàngarlic shoots and leaves
蒜瓣nounsuàn bàngarlic clove
独子蒜dú zǐ suànsolo garlic
独头蒜noundú tóu suànsolo garlic
压蒜器nounyā suàn qìgarlic press
装洋蒜zhuāng yáng suànto feign ignorance
磕头如捣蒜kè tóu rú dǎo suànlit. to kowtow like grinding garlic (idiom)
蒜米nounsuàn mǐminced garlic
蒜味suàn wèigarlic odor
25
Total compounds
48
As first character
40
As last character
12
As middle character

蒜 appears in 25 compound words: 48 as the first character, 40 as the last, and 12 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.

Strongest Collocations

Characters that most frequently co-occur with 蒜 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.

葱cōng
0.576176 co-occurrences
椒jiāo
0.479128 co-occurrences
辣là
0.460134 co-occurrences
醋cù
0.46060 co-occurrences
瓣bàn
0.43768 co-occurrences
炒chǎo
0.42060 co-occurrences
汁zhī
0.41664 co-occurrences
糖táng
0.416172 co-occurrences
羊yáng
0.416154 co-occurrences
酱jiàng
0.40728 co-occurrences

Idioms & Chengyu (1)

鸡毛蒜皮jīmáosuànpíHSK 7+

trivial matters

phrase

Example Sentences

AI-Generated

蒜字的写法很特别,让我印象深刻。

suàn zì de xiě fǎ hěn tè bié , ràng wǒ yìn xiàng shēn kè .

The way the character for "garlic" is written is quite unique and has left a deep impression on me.

中国新闻网·生活Aug 2026

小妙招:可以尝试用香辛料调味,多放葱姜蒜、十三香,也可以放点醋来增加咸味。

xiǎo miào zhāo : kě yǐ cháng shì yòng xiāng xīn liào diào wèi , duō fàng cōng jiāng suàn , shí sān xiāng , yě kě yǐ fàng diǎn cù lái zēng jiā xián wèi .

Quick Tip: Try seasoning with spices—add plenty of scallions, ginger, and garlic, along with “Thirteen Spices,” or a splash of vinegar to enhance the savory flavor.

SmzdmApr 2026

重口味饮食后:哪款见效快横评,火锅大蒜后谁是真正救星

chóng kǒu wèi yǐn shí hòu : nǎ kuǎn jiàn xiào kuài héng píng , huǒ guō dà suàn hòu shéi shì zhēn zhèng jiù xīng

After Eating Spicy Food: A Roundup of the Fastest-Acting Options—Which One Is the Real Lifesaver After Hot Pot and Garlic?

UdnnewsindexMar 2026

云林警启动护蒜专案 加强巡逻力求零失窃

yún lín jǐng qǐ dòng hù suàn zhuān àn jiā qiáng xún luó lì qiú líng shī qiè

Yunlin Police Launch "Garlic Protection" Initiative to Step Up Patrols and Aim for Zero Thefts

SmzdmMar 2026

香菇粉丝蒸蒜蓉酱做法

xiāng gū fěn sī zhēng suàn 蓉 jiàng zuò fǎ

How to Make Steamed Shiitake Mushrooms with Glass Noodles and Garlic Sauce

UdnnewsindexMar 2026

产量减蒜价却跌 农粮署重启收购救市...每斤28...

chǎn liàng jiǎn suàn jià què diē nóng liáng shǔ chóng qǐ shōu gòu jiù shì . . . měi jīn 2 8 . . .

Garlic Output Down, Prices Fall; Food and Agriculture Agency Resumes Purchases to Stabilize the Market...28 per jin...

Tatoeba

蒜头发芽了怎么办?

Suàntóu fāyá le zěnmebàn?

What should one do with germinating garlic bulbs?

Tatoeba

这道菜里有点大蒜的味道。

Zhè dào cài lǐ yǒudiǎn dàsuàn de wèidao.

This dish has a bit of garlic flavor.

Tatoeba

这不是鸡毛蒜皮的事。

Zhè bù shì jīmáosuànpí de shì.

This isn't a trivial matter.

Tatoeba

他给了我十二瓣大蒜。

Tā gěi le wǒ shí'èr bàn dàsuàn.

He gave me 12 cloves of garlic.

Character Family

Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 艹 (herb) component

Homophones — Characters pronounced suàn

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 蒜 (suàn) mean in Chinese?
蒜 (suàn) primarily means "garlic." It is classified as HSK Level 7-9, making it an expert-level character. It ranks #2915 in character frequency.
How many strokes does 蒜 have?
蒜 is written with 13 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 蒜?
The radical associated with 蒜 is 艹 (grass). This radical appears in many characters related to grass.
What are the components of 蒜?
蒜 is composed of: 艹 (semantic), 祘 (phonetic). Its IDS decomposition is ⿱艹祘 with a top-bottom layout. Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.
What are common words containing 蒜?
Common words with 蒜 include: 大蒜 (dà suàn, "garlic"); 装蒜 (zhuāng suàn, "to act stupid"); 鸡毛蒜皮 (jī máo suàn pí, "lit. chicken feathers and garlic skins (idiom)"); 蒜头 (suàn tóu, "garlic bulb"); 蒜泥 (suàn ní, "thoroughly mashed or minced garlic"). There are over 25 compound words containing this character.
What characters sound the same as 蒜 (suàn)?
Several characters share the pronunciation suàn: 算 (to regard as), 酸 (sour). Context and tones help distinguish between them in speech and writing.
Is 蒜 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Yes, 蒜 is written the same way in both simplified and traditional Chinese.

Practice writing 蒜 with real-time feedback

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

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.