How to Write 荚 (jiá) — Meaning “Pod; legume”

Picture a green bean pod (豆荚) that is tightly clamped shut, with the 艹 as the plant top and 夹 as the two sides pressing together. Imagine snapping a fresh green bean in half to remember the sound and shape.

Write the top 艹 first as a horizontal stroke with two short verticals, then the bottom 夹: stroke order is horizontal, left-falling, right-falling, dot, left-falling, right-falling — 6 strokes total for 夹. Common mistake: making the bottom 夹 too narrow or forgetting the dot inside.

荚 is a plant word meaning pod and contains 夹 underneath, while 兹 (zī/cí) means 'this' or 'now' and has a different lower part (like 丝 or 玄). 芈 (mǐ) is an ancient surname or a bleating sound and looks like a grass radical over a vertical stem with two horizontal lines, not 夹.

荚 appears in botanical terms like 豆荚 (bean pod) and 皂荚 (honey locust), the latter whose pods were traditionally used as a natural soap in China. You might see 荚 in scientific contexts or when describing legumes, but it is not common in everyday conversation for learners.

Common words containing 荚 include: 豆荚 (dòu jiá) — bean pod; 皂荚 (zào jiá) — Honey locust; 荚果 (jiá guǒ) — Pod; legume (botany).