How to Write 蓝 (lán) — Meaning “blue”

Imagine a blue sky (蓝) with grass (艹) growing on the ground, and below the grass you see a blue-colored surveillance monitor (监) watching over it. The picture of 'grass above a blue monitor' helps link the shape to the meaning 'blue'.

Yes, the grass radical (艹) on top should be written wide enough to cover the bottom part. In the bottom part 监, be careful to write the left vertical stroke first, then a long horizontal stroke across, and end with the dot on the right—many learners make the horizontal too short or miss the dot.

蓝 has the component 监 (a person watching over something), while 莿 contains 刺 (thorn) and 菀 contains 宛 (to bend or turn). Their meanings are completely different: 蓝 means 'blue', 莿 means 'thorn', and 菀 refers to lush growth of plants. Visually, 监 has a left vertical stroke and a horizontal across, while 刺 has a 刂 (knife) on the right and 宛 has a curved roof-like top.

蓝 is commonly used for the color blue, as in 蓝色 (lán sè) 'blue color' and 蓝天 (lán tiān) 'blue sky'. It also appears in words like 蓝莓 (lán méi) 'blueberry' and 蓝领 (lán lǐng) 'blue-collar worker'. In Chinese culture, blue is often associated with calmness and trust, and it is also a common surname.

Common words containing 蓝 include: 蓝色 (lán sè) — blue (color); 蓝天 (lán tiān) — blue sky; 浅蓝 (qiǎn lán) — light blue.