How to Write 蒂 (dì) — Meaning “stem (of a fruit or flower)”

Imagine a plant (艹) growing up to reach an emperor (帝), and the emperor holds a melon by its stem (蒂). The picture of a ruler holding a fruit by its stalk can help you connect the top and bottom parts to the meaning.

Write the 艹 radical first with three strokes (horizontal, vertical, vertical), then the 帝 part which starts with a dot, horizontal stroke, and then the rest. A common mistake is making the 帝 portion too wide or misplacing the dot above the first horizontal line—keep the radical compact and the lower part balanced.

All three share the 艹 radical, but 蒂 has 帝 (emperor) below and means "stem." 荷 (hé) has 何 below and means "lotus," while 荸 (bí) has 孛 below and refers to a water chestnut. Visually, the lower components are distinct: 帝, 何, and 孛 look different and carry different sounds and meanings.

蒂 appears in words like 瓜蒂 (melon stalk), 烟蒂 (cigarette butt), and the idiom 根深蒂固 (deep-rooted, ingrained). The idiom is common in both formal and everyday speech to describe long-standing habits or ideas, and the character itself is often used for parts of plants or things that attach like a stem.

Common words containing 蒂 include: 瓜蒂 (guā dì) — melon stalk; 烟蒂 (yān dì) — cigarette butt; 根深蒂固 (gēn shēn dì gù) — Deep-rooted; Ingrained.