How to Write 菖 (chāng) — Meaning “calamus; sweet flag”

Imagine fragrant sweet flag grass growing under a bright, prosperous sun — the top 艹 is the grass, and the two sun-like 日 stacked in 昌 represent strong sunlight. This helps you link the plant's smell with the sunny, thriving feel of 昌.

Make sure the grass radical 艹 is written narrow and sits above the 昌, not too wide. Inside 昌, write the two 日 parts — the top 日 is slightly smaller than the bottom one, and both should be evenly centered. A common mistake is making the two 日 the same size or writing them too close together.

菖 (chāng) has 艹 on top and 昌 (two 日 stacked) below, while 兹 (zī) has 艹 on top and two 玄 (mysterious) parts stacked — the bottom of 兹 looks like small hooks. 苧 (zhù) also has 艹 but bottom is 宁 (níng), which contains a 丁 and a dot, unlike the two 日 in 菖.

菖 is most commonly seen in the word 菖蒲 (chāng pú), meaning sweet flag or calamus, a plant used in traditional Chinese medicine and hung during the Dragon Boat Festival to repel insects. You may also see it in 石菖蒲 (shí chāng pú), a specific type used in herbal remedies.

Common words containing 菖 include: 菖蒲 (chāng pú) — sweet flag; calamus; 石菖蒲 (shí chāng pú) — grass-leaved sweet flag; 菖蒲叶 (chāng pú yè) — calamus leaf.