艹

Grass Radical (艹)

cǎo · 3 strokes · Full form: 草

The grass radical (艹) is one of the most common radicals in Chinese. It appears in 105 characters related to grass and associated concepts. The standalone character form is 草 (3 strokes); the component form 艹 is used inside compound characters. 105 characters: 3 in HSK 1, 2 in HSK 2, 4 in HSK 3, 7 in HSK 4, 8 in HSK 5, 6 in HSK 6, 61 in HSK 7-9, 14 in HSK 7-9. Radical classifications follow the Kangxi radical system. Character data is based on the HSK 3.0 Standard (CLEC 2022 syllabus).

Radical vs. Component: 艹 is also a character component. As a radical, it classifies characters in dictionaries. As a component, it appears as a building block contributing meaning, sound, or structure. For component-specific details including role analysis and position patterns, see the Grass Component (艹) page.

Grass Radical at a Glance

Stroke Count3 (艹)
Total Characters105
Most Common HSK LevelHSK 7-9 (61 characters)
Avg. Character Strokes11
Standalone Form草 (cǎo)
ClassificationKangxi Radicals

All Grass Radical Characters

HSK 1 (3 characters)

茶chátea菜càivegetable, dish苹píng(artemisia)

HSK 2 (2 characters)

花huāflower药yàomedicine

HSK 3 (4 characters)

草cǎograss蓝lánblue节jiéfestival, section蕉jiāobanana

HSK 4 (7 characters)

苦kǔbitter, suffer落luòto fall, to drop著zhùfamous, to write葡púgrape萄táogrape获huò(literary) to catch艺yìskill

HSK 5 (8 characters)

薄báothin荐jiànto recommend荣róngglory蔬shūvegetables范fànpattern营yíngcamp藏zàngTibet茄jiāphonetic character used in loanwords for the sound "jia", although 夾|夹 is more common

HSK 6 (6 characters)

英yīnghero, England蓄xùto store up菌jūngerm薯shǔpotato薪xīn(literary) firewood菊jú(bound form) chrysanthemum

HSK 7-9 (61 characters)

苏sūrevive荷hélotus, Holland蒙méngto cover, Mongolia董dǒngdirector蔽bìto cover, to hide蓬péngfluffy莫mòdo not蕾lěibud莲liánlotus萝luóradish若ruòto seem蔼ǎifriendly艾àiChinese mugwort or wormwood芭bāan unidentified fragrant plant mentioned in the Songs of Chu 楚辭|楚辞苍cāngdark blue葱cōngscallion荡dàngto wash蒂dìstem (of fruit)芳fāngfragrant芬fēnperfume菇gū(bound form) mushroom荒huāngdesolate茎jīngstalk荆jīngchaste tree or berry (Vitex agnus-castus)苛kēsevere芦lúrush蔓màncreeper芒mángawn (of cereals)茫mángvast, with no clear boundary莽mǎng(bound form) dense growth of grass茅máoreeds茂màoluxuriant萌méng(bound form) to sprout苗miáoHmong or Miao ethnic group of southwest China蔑mièto belittle蘑mómushroom萍píngduckweed菩púused in 菩薩|菩萨萨sàused in 菩薩|菩萨[pu2 sa4]蒜suàngarlic藤téngrattan萎wěito wither萧xiāo(old) Chinese mugwort芯xīn(bound form) the pith of the rush plant (used as a lampwick)芽yábud荫yìn(bound form) shade (of a tree)荧yínga glimmer莹yíngluster of gems蕴yùnto accumulate葬zàngto bury (the dead)藻zǎoaquatic grasses蘸zhànto dip in (ink, sauce etc)芝zhīZoysia pungens苟gǒusurname Gou茁zhuóto display vigorous, new growth茉mòused in 茉莉[mo4 li4]荤hūnstrong-smelling vegetable (garlic etc)莅lìriver in Hebei莉lìused in 茉莉[mo4 li4]蔚yùsurname Yu藐miǎoto despise

HSK 7-9 (14 characters)

莱láiname of weed plant (fat hen, goosefoot, pigweed etc)蔡Càisurname Cai蓉Róngpaste made by mashing beans or seeds etc蒋Jiǎngsurname Jiang藉Jísurname Ji葛Gěsurname Ge菲Fēiluxuriant (plant growth)薛Xuēsurname Xue蚕cánsilkworm莺yīngoriole or various birds of the Sylvidae family including warblers葑fēngturnip芙fúused in 芙蓉, lotus莞guānSkimmia japonica蕃fānforeign (non-Chinese)

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the grass radical mean in Chinese characters?
The grass radical (艹) signals a semantic connection to grass-related concepts. When you see 艹 in a character, it typically indicates the character's meaning involves grass or associated ideas. With 105 characters using this radical, it is one of the more productive radicals in Chinese. Radical classifications follow the Kangxi radical system, the traditional standard for organizing Chinese characters.
How many characters use the grass radical?
There are 105 characters with the grass radical (艹) in the HSK 3.0 character set (CLEC 2022 syllabus): 3 in HSK 1, 2 in HSK 2, 4 in HSK 3, 7 in HSK 4, 8 in HSK 5, 6 in HSK 6, 61 in HSK 7-9, 14 in HSK 7-9. The distribution across HSK levels reflects how fundamental grass-related concepts are at each stage of Mandarin learning.
What is the difference between 艹 and 草?
草 is the standalone character form (cǎo, meaning "grass"), while 艹 is the simplified radical form used as a component inside other characters. When writing characters that contain the grass radical, you write 艹 rather than the full form 草. Both forms represent the same radical — the component form 艹 is adapted for compact positioning within a character's structure.
What are the most common grass radical characters?
By frequency of use, the most common characters with the grass radical (艹) are: 英 (yīng, "hero, England"), 花 (huā, "flower"), 落 (luò, "to fall, to drop"), 节 (jié, "festival, section"), 营 (yíng, "camp"). These high-frequency characters are among the first grass-related characters most learners encounter.
What HSK levels include grass radical characters?
Characters with the grass radical (艹) appear across 8 HSK levels: 3 in HSK 1, 2 in HSK 2, 4 in HSK 3, 7 in HSK 4, 8 in HSK 5, 6 in HSK 6, 61 in HSK 7-9, 14 in HSK 7-9. The largest concentration is at HSK 7-9 with 61 characters. Earlier HSK levels introduce the most common grass-related characters, while advanced levels add specialized or literary terms.

Sources & Standards

Radical classifications on this page follow the Kangxi radical system (康熙部首), the standard set of 214 radicals codified in the Kangxi Dictionary (康熙字典, 1716). Character data is based on the HSK 3.0 Standard (《国际中文教育中文水平等级标准》), published by the Center for Language Education and Cooperation (CLEC), Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, 2022 revision.