How to Write 茏 (lóng) — Meaning “lush”

Picture a dragon (龙) lying under a thick layer of grass (艹)—the grass is so lush it covers the dragon completely. The dragon is powerful but hidden, just like the lush vegetation is dense and overwhelming. This visual of 'grass over dragon' helps link the character to the meaning 'lush'.

The top part (艹) should be written as two small horizontal strokes with a gap in the middle, not connected as one line. The bottom part (龙) has a left stroke that curves outward and a right stroke that ends with a hook—be careful not to make the hook too long. The overall proportion is roughly 1:2, with the grass radical taking the top third and the dragon taking the bottom two-thirds.

茏 means 'lush' and contains 龙 (dragon) below, while 兹 (zī or cí) means 'this' or 'now' and has 玄 (dark/silk) below instead of 龙. 艻 (lè) is a rare character for a type of grass and has 力 (power) below—its meaning is unrelated to lushness. Visually, 茏 is the only one with the dragon component, making it stand out.

茏 is rarely used alone; it mainly appears in the compound word 葱茏 (cōng lóng), meaning 'verdant and lush,' often describing thick green vegetation. You might see it in descriptive writing or poetry to evoke a vibrant, abundant natural scene. It is not a common character in daily conversation, so learners encounter it mostly in literary contexts.

Common words containing 茏 include: 葱茏 (cōng lóng) — verdant / lush; 茏葱 (lóng cōng) — verdant; 茏茏 (lóng lóng) — lush and green.