葱 (cōng) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

葱

cōng[cong1]Tone 1

scallion

HSK 7

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蔥

Guru Deep Dive

English · scallion

Cached lesson

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Topology:Top-bottom

Strokes:12

Writing Balance Rule: The grass radical (艹) sits flat and wide across the top, while the bottom phonetic component (悤) is compact and balanced underneath with strong vertical strokes.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 蔥 uses the same simplified upper grass radical 艹 and bottom phonetic 悤; the simplified character is identical in stroke structure.

1. Meaning

scallion or green onion

spring onionchives (in certain regional culinary terms)

NounNeutral#food#vegetables#botany#cooking

Sample Usage

撒上一把葱花。
Sā shàng yī bǎ cōnghuā.
Sprinkle a handful of chopped green onions on top.
大葱是北方常见的调味菜。
Dàcōng shì běifāng chángjiàn de tiáowèicài.
Chinese leek / scallion is a common seasoning vegetable in the north.

2. Sound

/[tsʰʊŋ˥˥]/Tone: 55

葱

cōngcong1

¯(55)

=cōng

Build the syllable

Step-by-step blending

cong

Tone mark placement: Tone mark sits on "o" per main-vowel priority (a > e > o; in -iu/-ui the mark takes the second vowel).

Initial Consonant

Type: Aspirated Dental Sibilant

Sounds like: ts sound (like 'ts' in 'cats')

Aspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Sharp burst of air through teeth! Tissue MUST flutter strongly.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip touches the back of lower teeth, releasing a burst of air.

Final Rhyme

ong

Vowel Group: -o vowel group

Sounds like: -ong rhymes with rung

Mouth Shape Guide: Combine initial 'h-' (h) with final '-ong' (oong).

Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.

Tone

T1 (55)

5 → 5 (55)

1st Tone (High-Flat)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 1 is a steady, high-pitched flat tone, similar to an exclamation of surprise or a musical note sustained on a single high pitch.

👂

Listening trap: Do not confuse with còng (Tone 4) or zōng (unaspirated initial 'z'). Make sure to aspirate the 'c' sound strongly.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Make a flat, high horizontal gesture in the air like a high plateau, matching the high level pitch of Tone 1.

3. Writing

Topology: Top-bottom · Strokes: 12 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The grass radical (艹) sits flat and wide across the top, while the bottom phonetic component (悤) is compact and balanced underneath with strong vertical strokes.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 蔥 uses the same simplified upper grass radical 艹 and bottom phonetic 悤; the simplified character is identical in stroke structure.

4. Components

Radical 艹 · Grass Radical (Plants, herbs, vegetation)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 艹 (Indicates that this character refers to a plant / vegetable.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 悤 (original sound: cong)

The grass radical (艹) at the top shows it is a plant, combined with the phonetic element 悤 underneath which provides the 'cōng' sound.

艹 Grass/plant semantic indicator
悤 Phonetic sound provider

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

2· Phonetic Root: 怱

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Formed by combining the grass radical (艹) to denote vegetation with the phonetic component 悤, reflecting both the category (plant) and the pronunciation.

Semantic Evolution: Originally referring to green aromatic plants like scallions and green onions, its core culinary meaning has remained stable throughout Chinese history.

Green onions (葱) have been a staple seasoning in East Asian cuisine for thousands of years.

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: ソウ (sō) / Kun: ねぎ (negi)

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

Imagine a plant (艹) growing in the garden that makes you go 'TS-ONG!' with a sharp pop when you pull it straight up out of the ground—it's a fresh green scallion (cōng)!

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

怱

Phonetic Core (声旁)

Explore this family →

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

聪(cōng)

葱 has the grass radical (艹) for scallions, whereas 聪 has the ear radical (耳) for being smart.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

炒菜的时候，妈妈总是喜欢放一些[___]花来增香。

Clue: cōng

Common Learner Pitfall

Forgetting to aspirate the initial 'c', or accidentally confusing it with the ear radical variant '聪' (clever).

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What vegetable does 葱 represent and how is it pronounced?

Production: How do you write the character for 'scallion' (cōng) with the grass radical on top?

葱cōngscallion

Speed:

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