How to Write 菐 (pú) — Meaning “servant (archaic)”

Imagine a servant (仆) wearing a hat made of grass (艹) as he works under the hot sun. The grass on top shows his humble job outdoors, while the complex lower part reminds you of his repeated hard tasks.

Write the top grass radical first (horizontal, then two verticals). Then the lower part has two similar sections: each begins with a horizontal, then a vertical, then a left-falling stroke, and finally a dot. Common mistake is writing the dot too early or mixing up the left-falling and dot order.

菐 has the grass radical plus a lower part with two repeated stroke groups, while 荷 has a lower part 可 (meaning 'can'). 荸 has a lower part 孛 (meaning 'comet'). Also, 菐 means 'servant' (archaic), whereas 荷 means 'lotus' and 荸 means 'water chestnut'.

菐 is rarely used alone today; it is an archaic character mostly found in classical literature or ancient texts. It appears in compounds like 菐菐 (pú pú, meaning 'toiling and weary') and 菐从 (attendants), but these are not common in daily speech.

Common words containing 菐 include: 菐菐 (pú pú) — toiling; weary; 菐从 (pú cóng) — attendants; retinue; 菐人 (pú rén) — servant; attendant.