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蔻

kòu
noun

Meanings

  1. 1 used in the names of aromatic spice plants (cardamom, nutmeg)

Examples

HSK 7-9
豆蔻是一种常用的香料。
Dòukòu shì yì zhǒng chángyòng de xiāngliào.
Cardamom is a commonly used aromatic spice.
HSK 7-9
诗里用豆蔻年华形容十三岁左右的少女。
Shī lǐ yòng dòukòu-niánhuá xíngróng shísān suì zuǒyòu de shàonǚ.
The poem uses 'cardamom age' to describe a girl of about thirteen.

Tips

culture
Lives in 豆蔻 (cardamom) and 肉豆蔻 (nutmeg). The set phrase 豆蔻年华 borrows the budding spice flower as a poetic image for a girl in her early teens.

Components

radical
艹 cǎo
grass; plant (top form)
Top grass radical 艹, marking 蔻 as a plant - here an aromatic spice plant.
phonetic
寇 kòu
bandit; invader
Below the grass top, 寇 supplies the sound kòu. Its own meaning, 'bandit', plays no part here - it is purely the phonetic in 豆蔻.

Stroke Order

蔻 kòu