菖

chāng
noun

Meanings

  1. 1 sweet flag; calamus

Examples

HSK 7-9
Duānwǔjié shí rénmen zài mén shàng guà chāngpú hé àicǎo.
At the Dragon Boat Festival people hang calamus and mugwort on their doors.

Tips

history
菖 never stands alone; it occurs only in 菖蒲, the sword-leaved water plant hung at the Dragon Boat Festival to ward off ill fortune. It is the grass radical 艹 over 昌 for the sound.
register
Bound - appears only in the plant name 菖蒲, not as a free word.

Components

radical
艹 cǎo
grass; plant
Grass radical 艹 on top marks 菖 as a plant name - the calamus reed.
phonetic
昌 chāng
prosperous; flourishing
昌 below supplies the sound directly (chāng). The same phonetic appears in 倡 and 猖.

Stroke Order

菖 chāng