荨 (qián) — used in 荨麻 (nettle) | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Bound character read qián, used only in 荨麻 (nettle). It is sometimes also pronounced xún, as in 荨麻疹 (xúnmázhěn, 'hives').

bound form

used in 荨麻 (nettle)

Easily confused

荨。
qián Má shì yì zhǒng cháng jiàn de yě shēng zhí wù.
Nettle is a common wild plant.
荨。
Bù xiǎo xīn pèng dào qián má huì gǎn dào cì tòng.
If you accidentally touch nettle, you'll feel a stinging pain.
荨。
Yǒu xiē dì fāng yòng qián má lái zuò cǎo yào.
Some places use nettle to make herbal medicine.

Sound + meaning

六书liùshū

形声xíngshēng

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 蕁; 荨 is its simplified writing.

艹尋蕁

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎo

Sound part声符shēngfú

尋

尋xún蕁

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

For 荨, the traditional form 蕁 combines 艹 (grass) with 尋 as a sound part.