How to Write 苴 (jū) — Meaning “Hemp; straw; sackcloth”

Imagine grass (艹) growing on top of a flat box (like 且) — the box reminds you of a woven hemp basket. You can also think of the sound "ju" as in "juice" and picture a straw (hemp) used for drinking juice. This links the grass top, the box shape, and the sound jū together.

苴 has 8 strokes: first write the grass radical 艹 as horizontal, left vertical, right vertical, then write the bottom part 且 as vertical, horizontal bend, horizontal, horizontal, horizontal. A common mistake is making the grass radical too wide or the bottom 且 too tall; keep them balanced so the character looks like a plant on a short base.

苴 has bottom 且 (a rectangle with three horizontals), while 兹 has bottom 玄 (a twisted rope shape under grass) and 艻 has bottom 力 (strength radical). The meanings also differ: 苴 means hemp or straw, 兹 means "this" or "now," and 艻 refers to a type of coarse grass. Visually, 苴 has a flatter, more squared lower part compared to the others.

苴 is rarely used in daily modern Chinese; it appears mainly in botanical terms like 苴麻 (female hemp) or 苴子 (hemp seeds), and in classical texts about ancient clothing or agriculture. It is not part of the HSK vocabulary, so learners may encounter it only when studying traditional Chinese medicine or historical plant names. Some surnames also include this character, but it remains quite uncommon.

Common words containing 苴 include: 苴麻 (jū má) — Female hemp; 苴子 (jū zi) — Hemp seeds; 苴草 (jū cǎo) — Straw; coarse grass.