How to Write 莴 (wō) — Meaning “lettuce (prefix)”

Imagine a lettuce plant with curly, crooked leaves—the bottom part 呙 looks like a curly shape. Think: 'Wō, look at that lettuce with wavy leaves!' This visual links the sound wō to the plant meaning.

Pay attention to the bottom part 呙: it has a 'mouth' (口) inside an enclosure, not a different shape like 禹. Also, the top grass radical 艹 should be narrow and centered. Common mistakes include making the 呙 too wide or confusing the strokes inside.

莴 (wō) is a prefix for lettuce, while 兹 (zī) means 'this' or 'now' and 苑 (yuàn) means 'garden' or 'enclosure'. Visually, 莴 has 呙 (with a square mouth), 兹 has 玄 (two curved lines), and 苑 has 夗 (a reclining figure). Always check the bottom part to tell them apart.

莴 is never used alone; it always appears as a prefix in vegetable names like 莴笋 (stem lettuce) and 莴苣 (lettuce). You will see it on menus and in grocery stores, especially in dishes like stir-fried 莴笋. There are no special cultural festivals for it, but lettuce is a common ingredient in Chinese cooking.

Common words containing 莴 include: 莴笋 (wō sǔn) — celtuce; stem lettuce; 莴苣 (wō jù) — lettuce; 莴菜 (wō cài) — lettuce.