芋 (yù): taro, Colocasia antiquorum, Colocasia esculenta

芋 (yù) is a Chinese character meaning “taro.” Outside the HSK 3.0 syllabus (CLEC 2022), it is composed of 艹 (semantic) and 于 (phonetic). It ranks #3368 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Etymologically derived, 芋 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

Definitions

  1. taro
  2. Colocasia antiquorum
  3. Colocasia esculenta

Etymology & Origin

芋

pictophoneticplant

Decomposition: ⿱艹于 (layout: top-bottom)

Stroke Order

1
2
3
4
5
6

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

Words & Compounds

Common Compounds

WordPinyinMeaning
山芋shān yùsweet potato
洋芋nounyáng yù(dialect) potato
芋头yù toutaro
菊芋nounjú yùJerusalem artichoke
芋头色yù tou sèlilac (color)
洋芋片yáng yù piàn(Tw) potato chip
海芋hǎi yùgiant taro (Alocasia macrorrhizos)
烫手山芋phrasetàng shǒu shān yùhot potato
姑婆芋noungū pó yùnight-scented lily (Alocasia odora)
芋螺毒素yù luó dú sùconotoxin
魔芋nounmó yùsee 蒟蒻
芋圆nounyù yuántaro ball (Taiwanese dessert)
乌芋nounwū yùsee 荸薺|荸荠
芋泥nounyù níyam paste (a snack in Chaozhou cuisine)
竹芋zhú yùIndian arrowroot (Maranta arundinacea)
17
Total compounds
35
As first character
59
As last character
6
As middle character

芋 appears in 17 compound words: 35 as the first character, 59 as the last, and 6 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 芋 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.

粒lì
0.72711 co-occurrences
糖táng
0.55912 co-occurrences
露lù
0.51111 co-occurrences
米mǐ
0.42911 co-occurrences
头tóu
0.38613 co-occurrences
少shǎo
0.38011 co-occurrences
西xī
0.37111 co-occurrences

Idioms & Chengyu (1)

烫手山芋tàngshǒu shānyù

hot potato (awkward or delicate problem)

phrase

Example Sentences

中国新闻网·体育Sep 2026

女子10米台决赛中国队由陈芋汐和卢为出战。

nǚ zǐ 1 0 mǐ tái jué sài zhōng guó duì yóu chén yù xī hé lú wéi chū zhàn .

In the women's 10-meter platform final, the Chinese team was represented by Chen Yuxi and Lu Wei.

中国新闻网·体育Sep 2026

女子双人10米跳台决赛,中国组合陈芋汐/卢为夺得金牌。

nǚ zǐ shuāng rén 1 0 mǐ tiào tái jué sài , zhōng guó zǔ hé chén yù xī lú wéi duó dé jīn pái .

In the women's 10-meter synchronized diving final, the Chinese pair of Chen Yuxi and Lu Wei won the gold medal.

中国新闻网·体育Sep 2026

传统优势项目方面,中国跳水“梦之队”由陈芋汐和王宗源等奥运冠军领衔,力争再创佳绩。

chuán tǒng yōu shì xiàng mù fāng miàn , zhōng guó tiào shuǐ mèng zhī duì yóu chén yù xī hé wáng zōng yuán děng ào yùn guàn jūn lǐng xián , lì zhēng zài chuàng jiā jì .

In traditional strong events, China’s diving “Dream Team”—led by Olympic champions such as Chen Yuxi and Wang Zongyuan—is aiming to achieve even greater success.

中国新闻网·生活Jul 2026

家常还可垫入南瓜、山药、芋头等,甘味入脾,更添健脾养胃之力。

jiā cháng hái kě diàn rù nán guā , shān yào , yù tóu děng , gān wèi rù pí , gèng tiān jiàn pí yǎng wèi zhī lì .

You can also add ingredients such as pumpkin, Chinese yam, and taro to this home-style dish; their sweet flavors benefit the spleen, further enhancing the dish’s ability to strengthen the spleen and nourish the stomach.

中国新闻网·生活Jul 2026

淀粉含量多的食物 土豆、芋头、馒头等淀粉含量较多的食物,加工后相对容易滋生细菌。

diàn fěn hán liàng duō de shí wù tǔ dòu , yù tóu , mán tóu děng diàn fěn hán liàng jiào duō de shí wù , jiā gōng hòu xiāng duì róng yì zī shēng xì jūn .

Starchy foods: Foods high in starch—such as potatoes, taro, and steamed buns—are relatively prone to bacterial growth after being prepared.

Character Family

Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 艹 (plant) component

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 芋 (yù) mean in Chinese?
芋 (yù) primarily means "taro." It is not part of the HSK 3.0 syllabus. It ranks #3368 in character frequency.
What's the difference between 芋 and 吁?
芋 (yù) and 吁 (xū) are often confused. confusable. The key distinguishing feature: 艹 vs 口 (same 于 component).
How many strokes does 芋 have?
芋 is written with 6 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 芋?
The radical associated with 芋 is 艹 (grass). This radical appears in many characters related to grass.
What are the components of 芋?
芋 is composed of: 艹 (semantic), 于 (phonetic). Its IDS decomposition is ⿱艹于 with a top-bottom layout. Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.
What are common words containing 芋?
Common words with 芋 include: 山芋 (shān yù, "sweet potato"); 洋芋 (yáng yù, "(dialect) potato"); 芋头 (yù tou, "taro"); 菊芋 (jú yù, "Jerusalem artichoke"); 芋头色 (yù tou sè, "lilac (color)"). There are over 17 compound words containing this character.
Is 芋 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Yes, 芋 is written the same way in both simplified and traditional Chinese.

Practice writing 芋 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.