How to Write 茉 (mò) — Meaning “Jasmine”

Imagine a 'grass' (艹) growing at the 'tip' (末) of a branch, representing a jasmine flower that blooms at the end of the stem. You can also think of 'Mo' (mò) as the sound for 'more' — more flowers on top of the plant.

The top radical 艹 should be written as three separate strokes (横竖竖) and must not be too wide. The bottom part 末 has a longer first horizontal stroke, and the final two strokes (撇捺) should be balanced like a tree; a common mistake is making the 末 part look like 未 (wèi, 'not yet').

茉 has 末 (a cross shape with a long top horizontal) underneath the grass radical, while 兹 has 玄 (thin silk threads or a twisted shape) instead. 艻 is very rare and has 力 (strength) under the grass — it looks like 艹加力, not 艹加末. Only 茉 is used for 'jasmine'.

茉 is almost exclusively used in the word 茉莉 (mò lì, jasmine) and its compounds like 茉莉花 (jasmine flower) or 茉莉茶 (jasmine tea). It does not appear alone. Jasmine is culturally important in China as a symbol of purity and is also the name of a famous folk song, '茉莉花'.

Common words containing 茉 include: 茉莉 (mò lì) — Jasmine; 茉莉茶 (mò lì chá) — Jasmine tea; 茉莉花 (mò lì huā) — Jasmine flower.