芽 (yá): bud, sprout
芽 (yá) is a Chinese character meaning “bud.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 艹 (semantic) and 牙 (phonetic). It ranks #2593 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 芽 plant. Its radical form 艹 (grass) appears in many related characters such as 花 (huā, flower), 茶 (chá, tea), 菜 (cài, vegetable, dish).
Definitions
- bud
- sprout
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 芽 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 麦芽 | mài yá | malt |
| 发芽 | fā yá | (of a seed) to germinate |
| 萌芽 | méng yá | (of a seed) to germinate |
| 豆芽 | dòu yá | bean sprout |
| 嫩芽 | nèn yá | tender shoots |
| 麦芽糖 | mài yá táng | maltose (sweet syrup) |
| 豆芽菜 | dòu yá cài | bean sprouts |
| 芽孢 | yá bāo | endospore |
| 胚芽 | pēi yá | bud |
| 新芽 | xīn yá | new shoot |
| 麦芽糊精 | mài yá hú jīng | maltodextrin |
| 月芽 | yuè yá | variant of 月牙[yue4 ya2] |
| 球芽甘蓝 | qiú yá gān lán | Brussels sprouts (Brassica oleracea L. var. gemmifera) |
| 花芽 | huā yá | flower bud |
| 小麦胚芽 | xiǎo mài pēi yá | wheat germ |
芽 appears in 28 compound words: 7 as the first character, 57 as the last, and 36 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 芽 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Example Sentences
芽字虽然难写，但意思很有趣。
yá zì suī rán nán xiě , dàn yì sī hěn yǒu qù .
Though the character for "sprout" is difficult to write, its meaning is quite interesting.
麦芽糖醇是无糖食品吗?作为甜味剂被允许用于无...
mài yá táng chún shì wú táng shí pǐn ma ? zuò wéi tián wèi jì bèi yǔn xǔ yòng yú wú . . .
Is maltitol a sugar free food? As a sweetener allowed to be used without ...
麦芽糖醇属于无糖食品吗?它算不算国标定义的“...
mài yá táng chún shǔ yú wú táng shí pǐn ma ? tā suàn bù suàn guó biāo dìng yì de . . .
Is maltitol a sugar-free food? Is it considered the "...
麦芽糖属于无糖食品吗?升糖指数高能标注无糖吗
mài yá táng shǔ yú wú táng shí pǐn ma ? shēng táng zhǐ shǔ gāo néng biāo zhù wú táng ma
Is maltose a sugar-free food? Can a high glycemic index be marked as sugar-free?
无糖食品真的无糖吗?糊精、麦芽糖浆会隐藏升糖成分吗
wú táng shí pǐn zhēn de wú táng ma ? hú jīng , mài yá táng jiāng huì yǐn zàng shēng táng chéng fēn ma
Are sugar free foods really sugar-free? Do dextrins, maltose syrup hide glycemic components?
用麦芽糖做零食大全可行吗?麦芽糖本身含糖不算无...
yòng mài yá táng zuò líng shí dà quán kě háng ma ? mài yá táng běn shēn hán táng bù suàn wú . . .
Is it possible to use maltose as a snack encyclopedia? Maltose itself contains sugar, not without sugar...
蒜头发芽了怎么办?
Suàntóu fāyá le zěnmebàn?
What should one do with germinating garlic bulbs?
花园里的草发芽了。
Huāyuán lǐ de cǎo fāyá le.
The grass sprouts all over the garden.
因为啤酒会根据麦芽含量去征税，所以发泡酒会比较便宜。
Yīnwèi píjiǔ huì gēnjù màiyá hánliàng qù zhēngshuì, suǒyǐ fāpāojiǔ huì bǐjiào piányi.
Beer is taxed according to its malt content, so low-malt beer is cheaper.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 芽 (yá) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 芽 have?
What is the radical of 芽?
What are the components of 芽?
What are common words containing 芽?
What characters sound the same as 芽 (yá)?
Is 芽 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 芽 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.