秧 (yāng): sapling, seedling, sprout, (esp.) rice seedling, stem, stalk, vine, baby livestock, fry

秧 (yāng) is a Chinese character meaning “sapling.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 禾 (semantic) and 央 (phonetic). It ranks #2926 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Etymologically derived, 秧 rice. Its radical form 禾 (grain) appears in many related characters such as 秋 (qiū, autumn), 科 (kē, branch of study), 租 (zū, to hire).

Spoken pronunciation

HSK 7-9 Radical: 禾 grain10 strokesFrequency #2926禾 semantic 央 phonetic

Definitions

sapling
seedling
sprout
(esp.) rice seedling
stem
stalk
vine
baby livestock
fry

Etymology & Origin

秧

pictophoneticrice

Decomposition: ⿰禾央 (layout: left-right)

Components:禾semantic 央phonetic

Stroke Order

Practice writing 秧 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
插秧verb	chā yāng	to transplant rice seedlings
病秧子noun	bìng yāng zi	(dialect) sickly person
秧苗noun	yāng miáo	seedling
西方秧鸡	xī fāng yāng jī	(bird species of China) water rail (Rallus aquaticus)
普通秧鸡	pǔ tōng yāng jī	(bird species of China) brown-cheeked rail (Rallus indicus)
长脚秧鸡	cháng jiǎo yāng jī	(bird species of China) corn crake (Crex crex)
白眉秧鸡	bái méi yāng jī	(bird species of China) white-browed crake (Porzana cinerea)
秧子noun	yāng zi	sapling
红腿斑秧鸡	hóng tuǐ bān yāng jī	(bird species of China) red-legged crake (Rallina fasciata)
秧歌剧	yāng ge jù	Yangge opera, a rural form of theater
蓝胸秧鸡	lán xiōng yāng jī	(bird species of China) slaty-breasted rail (Gallirallus striatus)
白喉斑秧鸡	bái hóu bān yāng jī	(bird species of China) slaty-legged crake (Rallina eurizonoides)
秧歌noun	yāng ge	Yangge, a popular rural folk dance
秧田noun	yāng tián	rice seedling bed
拔秧verb	bá yāng	to pull up seedlings (for transplanting)

Total compounds

As first character

As last character

As middle character

秧 appears in 15 compound words: 33 as the first character, 13 as the last, and 53 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 秧 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.

鸡jī

0.597474 co-occurrences

稼jià

0.52664 co-occurrences

插chā

0.522384 co-occurrences

稻dào

0.47751 co-occurrences

栽zāi

0.44080 co-occurrences

苗miáo

0.435150 co-occurrences

嘴zuǐ

0.42282 co-occurrences

歌gē

0.401564 co-occurrences

喉hóu

0.39132 co-occurrences

春chūn

0.387226 co-occurrences

Example Sentences

AI-Generated

写好秧字需要掌握正确的笔画顺序。

xiě hǎo yāng zì xū yāo zhǎng wò zhēng què de bǐ huà shùn xù .

To write the character "秧" correctly, one must master the proper stroke order.

爱范儿Jun 2026

阿里巴巴首席科学家周靖人同样出现在插秧现场。

ā lǐ bā bā shǒu xí kē xué jiā zhōu Jìng rén tóng yàng chū xiàn zài chā yāng xiàn chǎng .

Zhou Jingren, Alibaba’s Chief Scientist, was also present at the rice-planting site.

中国新闻网·文化Jun 2026

“芒种忙，下晚秧” 解锁民谚里的科学密码

máng zhǒng máng , xià wǎn yāng jiě suǒ mín yàn lǐ de kē xué mì mǎ

“Busy during the Grain in Ear solar term, plant rice seedlings late”—Unlocking the Scientific Secrets Behind Folk Sayings

東方日報Mar 2026

北角春秧街单位失火救援人员赶至扑救

běi jiǎo chūn yāng jiē dān wèi shī huǒ jiù yuán rén yuán gǎn zhì pū jiù

Fire breaks out at a unit on Chun Yeung Street in North Point; emergency responders rush to the scene to extinguish the blaze

UdnnewsindexMar 2026

不用年年插秧就能连续收获?大陆找到“长寿水稻”基因 ...

bù yòng nián nián chā yāng jiù néng lián xù shōu huò ? dà lù zhǎo dào cháng shòu shuǐ dào jī yīn . . .

Continuous harvests without annual transplanting? Mainland China identifies "long-lived rice" gene ...

光明网_新闻视野、文化视角、思想深度、理论高度Mar 2026

重庆长寿:村里有了“智能育秧工厂”

chóng qìng cháng shòu : cūn lǐ yǒu le zhì néng yù yāng gōng hǎn

Chongqing Changshou: A "Smart Seedling Nursery" Opens in the Village

Character Family

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 秧 (yāng) mean in Chinese?

秧 (yāng) primarily means "sapling." It is classified as HSK Level 7-9, making it an expert-level character. It ranks #2926 in character frequency.

What's the difference between 秧 and 英?

秧 (yāng) and 英 (yīng) are often confused. confusable. The key distinguishing feature: 禾 vs 艹 (same 央 component).

How many strokes does 秧 have?

秧 is written with 10 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 秧?

The radical associated with 秧 is 禾 (grain). This radical appears in many characters related to grain.

What are the components of 秧?

秧 is composed of: 禾 (semantic), 央 (phonetic). Its IDS decomposition is ⿰禾央 with a left-right layout. Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.

What are common words containing 秧?

Common words with 秧 include: 插秧 (chā yāng, "to transplant rice seedlings"); 病秧子 (bìng yāng zi, "(dialect) sickly person"); 秧苗 (yāng miáo, "seedling"); 西方秧鸡 (xī fāng yāng jī, "(bird species of China) water rail (Rallus aquaticus)"); 普通秧鸡 (pǔ tōng yāng jī, "(bird species of China) brown-cheeked rail (Rallus indicus)"). There are over 15 compound words containing this character.

What characters sound the same as 秧 (yāng)?

Several characters share the pronunciation yāng: 殃 (calamity), 样 (manner), 阳 (positive (electric.)), 养 (to raise (animals)), and 4 more. Context and tones help distinguish between them in speech and writing.

Is 秧 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?

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

Practice writing 秧 with real-time feedback

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

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