reed
English · reed
reed, rush, Phragmites communis
- 芦苇lú wěireed, rush
- 芦根lú gēnreed rhizome (traditional Chinese medicine)
Topology: Top-bottom · Strokes: 7 strokes
Writing Balance Rule: The top grass radical (艹) should sit lightly and evenly across the top, while the bottom phonetic part (户) provides stable grounding without sprawling too wide.
Simplification Logic: The traditional form 蘆 uses 盧 as the phonetic component, which was simplified in the modern form to 芦, streamlining the lower right section while retaining the grass radical.
Radical 艹 · Grass Radical (Plants, vegetation, herbs)
Semantic Clue (形旁): 艹 (Indicates that the character refers to a type of plant or grass (reed).)
Phonetic Clue (声旁): 户 (original sound: lú)
A plant (艹) that grows by the door or household edge (户) like riverbank reeds.
- 艹 Grass radical indicating vegetation
- 户 Phonetic clue suggesting the sound 'lú'
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
11· Phonetic Root: 盧Origin: Combined from the grass radical (艹) to denote marsh plants and 户 acting as the phonetic sound loan.
Semantic Evolution: Originally referred specifically to marsh reeds and water grasses, a meaning that remains stable in modern botany and traditional medicine.
- Reeds were historically used in ancient China for thatching roofs, weaving mats, and making simple musical instruments like flutes.
Imagine walking by a riverbank covered in tall grass (艹), where a lone door (户) stands upright, surrounded by whispering reeds (lú) swaying in the wind.
lúConfusing the grass radical (艹) with other top radicals like the canopy (宀) or water components.
Watch authentic native speakers pronounce and explain this word in real-world YouTube videos.
Results are live YouTube search — accents and levels aren't verified.