How to Write 蕻 (hóng) — Meaning “potherb mustard; lush”

Picture "grass" (艹) growing so thickly beside a "flood" (洪) that it becomes a lush, vibrant field—like a flood of green. This connects the plant meaning (potherb mustard) to the idea of being lush and abundant.

Write the top radical 艹 first with three strokes (horizontal, vertical, vertical). Then write 洪 below, paying attention to the left radical 氵 (water) and right part 共 (gòng). A common mistake is making the 氵 too wide; keep it narrow so 共 has enough space. The character has 16 strokes total.

蕻 (hóng) refers specifically to potherb mustard or lush vegetation, while 蒟 (jǔ) is a plant name used in 蒟蒻 (konjac, a food). 蒻 (ruò) means tender or weak, as in young leaves. Visually, 蕻 has the phonetic 洪, while 蒟 has 句 (jù) and 蒻 has 弱 (ruò). They are not interchangeable.

蕻 is rarely used alone in daily speech; it appears mainly in the common word 雪里蕻 (xuělǐhóng), which is a leafy green vegetable often pickled. You might see 腌蕻 (yān hóng) for "pickled potherb mustard" on food labels or in recipes. This character is not in the HSK vocabulary and is limited to agricultural or culinary contexts.

Common words containing 蕻 include: 雪里蕻 (xuě lǐ hóng) — potherb mustard; 腌蕻 (yān hóng) — Pickled potherb mustard; 蕻菜 (hóng cài) — potherb mustard.