How to Write 藒 (qiè) — Meaning “a type of fragrant plant”

Imagine a fragrant plant (艹) that is so precious that its harvest requires a special contract (契). The bottom part 契 looks like a document, so you can picture a "contract plant" used only for important ceremonies.

Write the top grass radical 艹 first, making it slightly narrower than the bottom. For the bottom part 契, pay attention to the left side with three evenly spaced horizontal strokes and the right side with a knife radical (刀). A common mistake is making the bottom too wide or misaligning the vertical strokes.

藒 differs from 䕭 (unknown pronunciation) in the lower component: 藒 has 契 while 䕭 has a different element. Compared to 蕑 (jiān), which has 閒 below, 藒 uses 契. In meaning, 蕑 refers to a different fragrant plant (often orchid-like), while 藒 specifically refers to an ancient plant used in carriages. All three are very rare classical characters.

藒 is almost never used in modern Chinese and is mainly found in ancient classical texts describing aromatic plants. The word 藒车 refers to a fragrant plant that was used in ancient carriages, and 藒草 appears in historical botanical references. Students of classical Chinese literature may encounter it, but it is not part of the HSK vocabulary.

Common words containing 藒 include: 藒车 (qiè chē) — qieche (an ancient fragrant plant); 藒草 (qiè cǎo) — qie grass; 藒子 (qiè zi) — qiezi (a type of plant).