How to Write 莼 (chún) — Meaning “Watershield”

Imagine a 'pure' (纯 chún) green plant (艹) floating on the surface of a clear lake. The plant is a watershield, and it looks like a little shield made of pure jelly. This visual helps connect the sound 'chún' to the plant's appearance.

The top 艹 (grass radical) is written first as two short horizontal strokes followed by a vertical stroke, then the bottom part 纯 must be written carefully: the left side 纟 uses three strokes (折, 折, 提) and the right side 屯 uses four strokes (横, 竖折, 竖, 竖弯钩). A common mistake is writing 屯 with an extra stroke or making the 纟 too wide.

莼 (chún) is a plant name for watershield, while 兹 (zī/cí) means 'now' or 'this' and 苑 (yuàn) means 'garden' or 'enclosed area'. Visually, 莼 has the grass radical on top of 纯, 兹 has two 幺 (silk) on top of 艹 (or in some forms), and 苑 has the grass radical on top of 夗. They sound and look different in everyday use.

莼 is almost exclusively used in the word 莼菜 (chún cài, watershield) and dishes like 莼羹 (chún gēng, watershield soup). This plant is a famous ingredient in Hangzhou cuisine, often served in a light broth. You may also see it in classical poetry describing lakes and water plants, but it is rare in daily conversation.

Common words containing 莼 include: 莼菜 (chún cài) — Watershield (aquatic plant); 莼羹 (chún gēng) — Watershield soup; 莼丝 (chún sī) — Watershield stems / filaments.