How to Write 蓂 (míng) — Meaning “Legendary lucky weed”

Imagine a dark (冥) patch of grass (艹) where a secret lucky weed grows. The sound "míng" can remind you of "mythical" — the grass of mythical luck.

Write the top radical 艹 with three strokes: a horizontal line then two slightly slanted verticals. The bottom 冥 must be balanced: the roof 冖 should cover the 大 and 日, and avoid making the 日 too small or the 大 too wide.

蓂 contains 冥 and means a mythical lucky weed. 莿 has 刺 (thorn) and refers to thorny plants. 菐 has 業 (business) and is a rare character for a type of plant. Their lower parts are visually distinct and carry different meanings.

蓂 is extremely rare in modern Chinese and appears mostly in classical texts about mythical plants like 蓂荚, a legendary weed that grows one leaf per day of the month. It is not used in daily conversation and is mainly of interest to students of ancient Chinese mythology.

Common words containing 蓂 include: 蓂荚 (míng jiá) — Legendary moon-phase plant; 历蓂 (lì míng) — a mythical auspicious plant; 瑞蓂 (ruì míng) — Ruiming (a mythical lucky plant).