How to Write 芑 (qǐ) — Meaning “White millet”

Imagine that the top part 艹 looks like two leaves of a millet plant, and the bottom 己 looks like a curved stalk. Think: "The millet is planted by itself (己) in the grass (艹)."

Write the grass radical 艹 first (horizontal stroke, then vertical, then left and right strokes). Then write 己: start with a horizontal fold, then a short horizontal, and finish with a vertical hook. A common mistake is making the bottom 己 too wide or confusing its shape with 巳 or 已.

艺 (yì, art, skill) has 乙 (yǐ) below instead of 己, and is much more common. 艻 (lè) is a rare character with 力 (lì) below, meaning a type of plant. 芑 specifically refers to white millet or a wild vegetable, while the others have unrelated meanings.

芑 is not common in daily conversation and is mostly found in classical texts or botanical names. It appears in words like 白芑 (white endive) and 芑菜 (sow thistle), which are edible wild plants used in traditional Chinese cuisine or herbal medicine.

Common words containing 芑 include: 白芑 (bái qǐ) — white endive; 芑实 (qǐ shí) — White millet seeds; 芑菜 (qǐ cài) — Sow thistle (a wild vegetable).