cou2艸
Jyutpingcou2
Yalechóu
Definition
Grass, or characters relating to grass, plants, and herbs.
writtennature
How it's used
In modern Cantonese, the character 艸 is almost exclusively used in its radical form, often called 草花頭, appearing at the top of characters like 花 or 茶. When referring to the plant grass, the character 草 is used instead. Using 艸 as a standalone word for grass is considered archaic or strictly literary.
Measure word
fo2棵fóRelated words
Common mistake
Learners often confuse the radical form 艸 with the full character 草. Remember that 艸 is a component for building characters, while 草 is the actual noun used in everyday speech.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- In 30 secondsThe whole language at a glance. No tenses, no plurals, six tones, sentence particles. Read this before you dive into any specific topic.
- ParticlesSentence particles add tone, emotion, and nuance. Learn the most common particles in Cantonese and how to use them.
- Possession (嘅)How to say my, your, and his, and how to link a describing word to a noun, all with the little word 嘅 (ge3).
