荼 (tú) — (literary) a bitter edible plant (sowthistle); (in compounds) used in 如火如荼 'like a raging fire' and 荼毒 'to poison, to cause suffering'

Definition

A literary bound form for a bitter plant (sow thistle). It survives today mainly inside two set compounds: 如火如荼 ('raging, in full swing') and 荼毒 ('to poison, to ravage').

bound form
(literary) a bitter edible plant (sowthistle)(in compounds) used in 如火如荼 'like a raging fire' and 荼毒 'to poison, to cause suffering'
Easily confused

Examples

  • 。
    Bǐ sài jìn xíng dé rú huǒ rú tú.
    The competition is like a raging fire.
  • 。
    Dú pǐn tú dú le xǔ duō nián qīng rén.
    Drugs have poisoned many young people.
  • 。
    Zhè zhǒng yào wù de fù zuò yòng shì tú dú shēng líng.
    The side effect of this drug is poisoning living beings.

Origin

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
艸艸cǎograss
Sound part声符shēngfú
余
余yú荼tú
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The top 艸 marks this as a grassy plant, while 余 supplies the sound.

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