How to Write 茴 (huí) — Meaning “fennel”

Imagine a patch of grass (艹) growing in a circle (回) — this circular patch is where fennel plants grow. The circle also reminds you of the round shape of fennel seeds, making it easy to link the parts to the meaning.

Start with the grass radical 艹 (a horizontal stroke then two short verticals), then write the outer frame of 回, followed by the inner 口. Make sure the inner 口 is centered and smaller than the outer box — a common mistake is making the inner part too large or off-center.

茴 has 回 inside the grass radical, while 兹 has 玄 below 艹 and is used for words meaning 'now' or 'this'. 芈 looks like a sheep with horns and is ancient, not used in modern Chinese. Visually, 茴's square enclosure inside sets it apart from both.

茴 appears mainly in the word 茴香 (fennel), a common cooking spice. A cultural note: 茴香豆 (fennel-flavored beans) is famously mentioned in Lu Xun's story "Kong Yiji", making it a nostalgic dish. It is not in HSK but useful for food-related vocabulary.

Common words containing 茴 include: 茴香 (huí xiāng) — fennel / anise; 小茴香 (xiǎo huí xiāng) — Fennel; 茴香豆 (huí xiāng dòu) — fennel-flavored beans.