How to Write 菩 (pú) — Meaning “Bodhi (root character)”

Imagine a person standing under a grass roof, opening their mouth to chant Buddhist sutras. The top 艹 is the grass roof, the 立 part represents a person standing, and the 口 is their mouth. This scene of meditative chanting helps you recall that 菩 is used in Buddhist terms like 菩萨 (Bodhisattva).

Write the top radical 艹 first, with two horizontal strokes and two vertical strokes; keep it compact and centered. Then write 咅: start with the 立 part (dot then horizontal, left vertical, horizontal) and finally the 口 square below. A common mistake is making the 艹 too wide, which throws off the balance—keep the overall shape tall and narrow.

菩 contains 咅 (立 above 口) in its lower half, while 兹 has 玄 (a twisted shape) and 苧 has 宁 (a roof-like component). Visually, 菩 looks like grass over a mouth with a person standing; 兹 is grass over a mysterious symbol, and 苧 is grass over a house. In usage, 菩 only appears in Buddhist vocabulary, whereas 兹 means 'now' and 苧 is a plant name.

菩 appears almost exclusively in Buddhist terms such as 菩萨 (pú sà, Bodhisattva) and 菩提 (pú tí, enlightenment). It is not in the HSK vocabulary because it is specialized religious vocabulary. Culturally, 菩提树 (pú tí shù) is the tree under which the Buddha achieved enlightenment, so the character carries deep spiritual significance.

Common words containing 菩 include: 菩萨 (pú sà) — Bodhisattva; 菩提 (pú tí) — Bodhi (enlightenment); 菩提子 (pú tí zi) — Bodhi seed.