How to Write 莿 (cì) — Meaning “Thorn / Prickle”

Imagine a patch of grass (艹) that has sharp thorns (刺) on it. When you step on it, you shout "Cì!" — which sounds like "see" but hurts like a thorn. This connects the shape, sound, and meaning.

The top grass radical (艹) must be written with three strokes: horizontal, vertical, vertical — not as two crosses. The lower part 刺 has a left side 朿 (ci4) with a vertical stroke that should not extend into the right side 刂. Keep the whole character balanced, with the bottom wider than the top.

莿 (cì) means thorn or prickle, while 荷 (hé) means lotus and 荸 (bí) is used in 荸荠 (water chestnut). Visually, 莿 has a sharp 刺 below, 荷 has 何 (what) below, and 荸 has 孛 (comet) below. Their meanings are completely different: 莿 is about thorny plants, 荷 about lotus flowers, and 荸 about a root vegetable.

莿 is not a common character in daily vocabulary but appears in botanical names like 莿桐 (cìtóng, tiger's claw tree) and in regional terms for thorny plants like 莿草 (thorny grass) or 莿丛 (thicket of thorns). It is rarely used alone and mostly found in specialized contexts or place names.

Common words containing 莿 include: 莿桐 (cì tóng) — Tiger's claw tree (Erythrina variegata); 莿草 (cì cǎo) — Thorny grass; 莿丛 (cì cóng) — Thicket of thorns.