How to Write 葶 (tíng) — Meaning “draba (a type of plant)”

Picture a small pavilion (亭) with a green grass roof (艹) — that is your draba plant growing on top. The grass covers the pavilion, reminding you it is a plant called tíng.

Start with the grass radical 艹 as three strokes: horizontal, vertical, horizontal. Then write 亭 with its 9 strokes, keeping the top slightly narrower than the bottom. A common mistake is making the grass radical too wide, so keep it compact.

葶 means draba plant and has the phonetic component 亭 below. 荷 (hé) means lotus and has 何 below, while 荸 (bí) means water chestnut with 孛 below. Visually, only the bottom part differs, so focus on the distinct shapes of 亭, 何, and 孛.

葶 is rarely used alone and appears mostly in the word 葶苈 (tíng lì, draba herb) or 葶苈子, referring to draba seeds in traditional Chinese medicine. It is not part of everyday vocabulary, but you may see it in botanical or herbal contexts.

Common words containing 葶 include: 葶苈 (tíng lì) — draba (herb); 葶苈子 (tíng lì zi) — draba seeds (used in TCM); 葶花 (tíng huā) — draba flower.