How to Write 苤 (piě) — Meaning “Kohlrabi”

Picture a plant (艹) growing a big, round bulb like a kohlrabi — the bottom part 丕 looks like a bulb shape. Also, say "piě" like "pie" to imagine a kohlrabi pie.

First write the grass radical 艹 (horizontal stroke then two vertical strokes). Then write 丕: horizontal, left-slanting stroke, dot, bottom horizontal. Keep the grass part narrow and 丕 balanced; a common mistake is making the bottom 丕 too tall or writing the dot too far to the left.

兹 (zī, meaning "this" or "now") has a different top (䒑) and bottom that is not plant-related, so it is not a vegetable. 艻 (lè) also has the grass radical but uses 力 (strength) below, referring to a type of grass. 苤 always means kohlrabi and is used only in food contexts.

苤 appears almost exclusively in the compound 苤蓝 (kohlrabi), a common vegetable in Chinese cooking. You will find it in recipes for dishes like 腌苤蓝 (pickled kohlrabi) or 炒苤蓝 (stir-fried kohlrabi), especially in northern Chinese cuisine.

Common words containing 苤 include: 苤蓝 (piě lán) — Kohlrabi; 腌苤蓝 (yān piě lán) — Pickled kohlrabi; 炒苤蓝 (chǎo piě lán) — stir-fried kohlrabi.