How to Write 葳 (wēi) — Meaning “luxuriant”

Imagine a "weird" (sounds like wēi) jungle of grass (艹) growing so thick and lush that it looks almost magical. The grass radical plus the sound "wei" can remind you of "weirdly luxuriant" vegetation.

Write the grass radical 艹 first with its horizontal stroke followed by two vertical strokes. Then write 威, starting with the left stroke and then the right part — be careful to keep the strokes balanced so the character doesn't look lopsided. A common mistake is making the top grass radical too small, which unbalances the whole character.

葳 (wēi) means "luxuriant" and is almost always used in the compound 葳蕤, while 荷 (hé) means "lotus" or "to carry" and 荸 (bí) appears in 荸荠 (water chestnut). Visually, 葳 has the phonetic 威 inside, whereas 荷 has 何 and 荸 has 孛 — look for the different lower components to tell them apart.

葳 is rarely used alone; it appears almost exclusively in the literary word 葳蕤 (wēi ruí), which describes plants growing lushly and vibrantly. This term is found in classical poetry and formal writing, not everyday conversation, and carries a graceful, elegant tone.

Common words containing 葳 include: 葳蕤 (wēi ruí) — luxuriant / flourishing.