How to Write 藨 (biāo) — Meaning “wild berry; sedge”

Imagine a wild berry bush growing in a grassy field where a deer (鹿) likes to hide. The grass radical 艹 on top represents the plants, and the deer component below reminds you that these berries are found in nature, not in gardens.

Write the grass radical 艹 first (horizontal, vertical, vertical, then left-falling stroke). Then write the deer component 鹿 with 11 strokes, paying attention to the 广 top (dot, horizontal, left-falling) followed by the 比 part on the left and 几 on the right. A common mistake is making the 鹿 too tall or forgetting the dot above the 广.

藨 (biāo) means wild berry or sedge, while 薰 (xūn) means a fragrant herb or to smoke/perfume. Visually, 藨 has the deer component 鹿 under the grass, while 薰 has the top radical 艹 over a complex lower part that includes 熏 (smoke). 藨 is much rarer, used mainly in plant names, whereas 薰 appears in words like 薰衣草 (lavender).

藨 is not common in daily language; it appears mainly in botanical or regional names for specific plants, such as 藨草 (sedge) and 藨莓 (wild raspberry). You might encounter it in dictionaries, plant identification guides, or local dialects referring to wild berries, but it is not used in standard HSK vocabulary.

Common words containing 藨 include: 藨草 (biāo cǎo) — bulrush; sedge; 藨莓 (biāo méi) — wild raspberry; dewberry; 藨子 (biāo zi) — wild berry.