How to Write 莱 (lái) — Meaning “goosefoot; (used in transliterations like Rhine)”

Imagine a goose (which sounds like "gū" but think of a bird with webbed feet) coming (来) to eat some grass (艹). The word "goosefoot" for the plant can remind you of a goose's foot shape in the grass.

Write the grass radical 艹 first as three strokes: a horizontal line, then left vertical, then right vertical. The bottom part 来 has seven strokes, and be careful to keep the horizontal strokes balanced and the final left-falling and right-falling strokes symmetrical.

All three have the grass radical on top, but the bottom parts differ. 莱 has 来 (come), 兹 has 玄 (mysterious), and 苑 has 元 (origin). Their meanings are different: 莱 appears in place names and transliterations, 兹 means "now" or "this", and 苑 means "garden".

莱 is mainly used in transliterations, such as 莱茵河 (Lái Yīn Hé) for the Rhine River, and in the ancient place name 蓬莱 (Péng Lái), a legendary land of immortals. It also appears in the word 莱菔 (lái fú) for radish, though this term is less common today.

Common words containing 莱 include: 莱茵河 (lái yīn hé) — the Rhine River; 蓬莱 (péng lái) — Penglai (a legendary land); 莱菔 (lái fú) — radish.