How to Write 菘 (sōng) — Meaning “Chinese cabbage; bok choy”

Imagine a pine tree (松) growing in a field of grass (艹), but instead of pine needles, it produces large green cabbage leaves. This odd visual of a cabbage-planting pine tree helps link the meaning of Chinese cabbage to the character's components.

The top radical 艹 is written with three strokes: horizontal, vertical, and a left-falling stroke, and it should be slightly wider than the lower part. The lower part 松 has a left half 木 that ends with a small hook, and the right half 公 must be balanced; a common mistake is making the 艹 too narrow or the 木 too tall.

Unlike 菘, which means Chinese cabbage, 兹 (zī, cí) means 'this' or 'now' and has a different lower component (two 幺), while 苧 (zhù, níng) refers to ramie (a plant for fiber) and has a 宁 below. Visually, 菘 has a clear 松 (pine) bottom, whereas 苧 uses 宁 with a different stroke pattern.

菘 is an old or literary term for Chinese cabbage, often replaced by the more common word 白菜 (bái cài) in everyday speech. It appears in botanical names like 菘蓝 (woad, a dye plant) and in classical texts; you might see it in farming contexts or traditional recipes.

Common words containing 菘 include: 菘菜 (sōng cài) — Chinese cabbage; 菘蓝 (sōng lán) — woad (a plant used for dye); 青菘 (qīng sōng) — Chinese cabbage.