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香草 (xiāng cǎo) — vanilla (the plant, bean, or flavor); aromatic herb; herb

Definition

Literally 'fragrant grass,' used both for aromatic herbs in general and for vanilla (the plant, bean, and flavor). The example 香草冰淇淋 means vanilla ice cream.

noun
vanilla (the plant, bean, or flavor)aromatic herbherb
Measure word · 种

Examples

  • 。
    Wǒ xǐ huan chī xiāng cǎo bīng qí lín.
    I like eating vanilla ice cream.
  • 香草。
    Zhè ge dàn gāo jiā le xiāng cǎo jīng.
    This cake has added vanilla extract.
  • 香草。
    Zhè zhǒng xiāng cǎo kě yǐ yòng lái pào chá.
    This kind of herb can be used to make tea.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

香xiāngfragrant
草cǎograss

香 means fragrant, and 草 means grass, together an aromatic herb.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

香's early form paired 黍 (glutinous millet) with 口 (mouth), perhaps showing millet drink being taken in or offered.

Open 香 →

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
艹Written in full as艸cǎograss; plant
Sound part声符shēngfú
早
早zǎo草cǎo
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

草 pairs 艹 (grass; plant) with 早, which gives the sound. The form originally referred to another word and was later used for the grass sense.

Open 草 →
Appears in
Flavors & SeasoningsPlants & Flowers

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