How to Write 荽 (suī) — Meaning “Coriander (short for 芫荽)”

Picture the bottom part 妥 as a hand (爪) picking a leafy plant (艹) while a woman (女) holds a bunch of coriander. The sound "suī" can remind you of "sweet"—coriander adds a sweet, fresh flavor to food.

The stroke order is: first write the grass radical 艹 (horizontal, vertical, vertical, horizontal), then the bottom part 妥 (爪: left-falling, left-falling, vertical lift, left-falling, right-falling; then 女: left-falling dot, left-falling, horizontal). A common mistake is making the 女 at the bottom too large—keep it narrow so the character is balanced.

The bottom part is the key: 荽 has 妥 (爪+女), 兹 has 玄 (like a twisted thread), and 苑 has 宛 (宀+夕). In meaning, 荽 only appears in words for coriander, while 兹 means "this" or "now" and 苑 means "garden" or "park." They look different at a glance once you notice the lower component.

荽 is almost never used alone; it appears in the compound 芫荽 (yán suī) meaning cilantro or coriander, also written as 香荽 or 荽菜. In Chinese cooking, coriander is a common garnish for soups, noodles, and hot pot, though some people dislike its strong taste due to genetics. The character itself is rare outside herb-related terms.

Common words containing 荽 include: 芫荽 (yán suī) — Coriander / Cilantro; 香荽 (xiāng suī) — Coriander; 荽菜 (suī cài) — Coriander or cilantro.