How to Write 莪 (é) — Meaning “zedoary; a type of mugwort”

Think of your own garden: 'I (我) am growing a special grass (艹) called zedoary.' This image connects the components and reminds you that 莪 is a type of mugwort used in herbal medicine.

Write the grass radical 艹 first with three strokes (horizontal, left vertical, right vertical). Then write the lower part 我 starting with the left-falling stroke (丿), followed by the horizontal stroke; a common mistake is writing the horizontal before the left-falling stroke.

All three have the grass radical, but 莪 contains 我 (self) and refers to a specific plant (zedoary). 兹 has 丝 (silk) underneath and means 'now' or 'this', while 苑 has 夗 (a lying person) underneath and means a garden or park.

莪 is rare in daily speech, but it appears in the medicinal term 莪术 (é shù, zedoary root) and in literature like the Book of Songs, where 莪蒿 (é hāo) symbolizes the hardship of parents raising children.

Common words containing 莪 include: 莪蒿 (é hāo) — a type of wormwood; 莪术 (é shù) — zedoary (a medicinal root); 采莪 (cǎi é) — to gather artemisia (aster).