How to Write 荪 (sūn) — Meaning “fragrant grass; bamboo fungus”

Imagine "grass" (艹) growing over a "grandson" (孙) — the grandson is hiding in the fragrant grass. This connects the plant radical to the sound component and the idea of something natural and sweet-smelling.

The top of the right part 孙 must be written as 子 (zi) with a horizontal stroke, not as 孑. Also, the left 艹 should be slightly narrower than the right side to keep the character balanced. Avoid making the 艹 too wide.

兹 (zī) means "this" or "now" and has no plant radical, using 丷 on top. 芈 (mǐ) is an ancient surname or a sheep bleat, with radical 羊. In contrast, 荪 always has the grass radical 艹 and specifically refers to fragrant plants or bamboo fungus.

荪 appears mostly in the word 竹荪 (zhú sūn), which is a common edible mushroom used in soups. It is also used in classical poetry to describe fragrant grass, but it is very rare in daily conversation. You may see it on restaurant menus or in herbal medicine references.

Common words containing 荪 include: 竹荪 (zhú sūn) — Bamboo fungus; 荪草 (sūn cǎo) — fragrant grass; 荪美 (sūn měi) — beautiful and fragrant.