How to Write 夲 (tāo) — Meaning “ancient form of 'to advance' or 'root'”

Imagine a big person (大) stepping forward over a horizontal line — that line is like a starting block for advancing. This visual helps you recall that 夲 means 'to advance' or 'root' in ancient Chinese.

The key is the stroke order: first write the horizontal stroke at the top, then the left-falling stroke, the right-falling stroke, and finally the long horizontal line at the bottom. Many learners mistakenly write the bottom line too short or too close to the top part, but it should extend slightly beyond the base of 大.

夲 has a horizontal line crossing completely under the radical 大, while 大 has no extra line below it. 买 (mǎi, 'to buy') has a 头 (head) component on top and a 大-like shape below, but the bottom of 买 is 大 with two dots, not a single horizontal line.

夲 is very rare in modern Chinese and mostly appears in classical texts or as a component in herbal medicine terms like 夲草 (tāo cǎo, meaning 'herbal medicine'). It is not used in daily conversation or HSK vocabulary, but scholars may encounter it in ancient writings about roots or advancement.

Common words containing 夲 include: 夲 (tāo) — ancient form of 'to advance' or 'root'; 夲草 (tāo cǎo) — herbal medicine; 夲者 (tāo zhě) — the one who advances / the character '夲'.