How to Write 菟 (tú) — Meaning “dodder (a parasitic plant)”

Picture a rabbit (兔) wearing a grass hat (艹). This funny image reminds you that 菟 is a plant, specifically the dodder that often tangles around other plants like a rabbit hopping through grass.

Write the top 艹 first, then the bottom 兔. Be careful with 兔: it ends with a small dot (丶) inside the hook shape. Many learners forget this dot, so always include it to distinguish from 免 (miǎn, to avoid).

The lower part of 菟 is 兔 (rabbit), while 兹 has 玄 (mysterious) below and 苧 has 宁 (peace) below. Visually, 菟 looks like a rabbit under grass; 兹 looks like two silk threads; 苧 looks like a shelter under grass. Their meanings are also different: 菟 means dodder, 兹 means 'this' or 'now', and 苧 is ramie plant.

菟 is not common in daily conversation but appears in traditional medicine terms like 菟丝子 (tú sī zi, dodder seed) and 菟葵 (tú kuí, winter aconite). It is mostly encountered in herbal medicine texts or botanical contexts, not in HSK vocabulary.

Common words containing 菟 include: 菟丝子 (tú sī zi) — dodder seed (used in traditional medicine); 菟葵 (tú kuí) — Winter aconite; 菟丝 (tú sī) — dodder.