How to Write 蔬 (shū) — Meaning “vegetable”

Imagine a vegetable garden where the grass (艹) covers rows of vegetables, and you have to thin them out (like the meaning of 疏, 'to space out') so they grow well. This links the plant radical to the idea of spacing or sorting vegetables, helping you recall the character.

When writing 蔬, note that the top radical 艹 is written as three strokes (horizontal, vertical, vertical), and the lower part 疏 has 13 strokes. A common mistake is making the left side of 疏 too wide; keep the left component (疋) narrow and the right component (㐬) balanced. Pay attention to the final stroke of 疋—it should be a vertical hook.

蔬 (shū) means 'vegetable' and has the radical 艹 plus 疏 as sound. 葄 (zuò) is a rare character meaning 'to pad' or 'a kind of grass', and it has 艹 plus 乍 (zhà) as phonetic. 蒗 (làng) means 'a type of weed' or appears in place names, with 艹 plus 浪 (làng) as phonetic. Visually, 蔬 has a more complex lower part (疏), while 葄 is simpler with 乍 and 蒗 has 浪.

蔬 is most commonly used in the word 蔬菜 (shū cài), meaning 'vegetables', which is a staple term in daily shopping, cooking, and dietary discussions. It also appears in 蔬果 (shū guǒ) for 'vegetables and fruits' and in health contexts like 生蔬 (raw vegetables) for salads. In Chinese culture, a balanced diet emphasizing fresh 蔬菜 is highly valued in traditional medicine and cuisine.

Common words containing 蔬 include: 蔬菜 (shū cài) — vegetables; 生蔬 (shēng shū) — Raw vegetables; 蔬果 (shū guǒ) — vegetables and fruits.