How to Write 葙 (xiāng) — Meaning “celosia (a type of plant)”

Imagine a field of celosia plants that all look like they are bowing to each other mutually — 相 means "mutual" or "each other." The grass radical 艹 reminds you it is a plant, so picture the plants greeting one another with their feathery tops.

Start with the grass radical 艹 (three strokes: horizontal, then two verticals), then write 相: first 木 (horizontal, vertical, left-falling, right-falling), then 目 (vertical, horizontal, horizontal, horizontal, horizontal). A common mistake is making the 艹 too wide or separating it from 相 — keep the top compact and centered over the bottom part.

葙 has 相 below the grass radical, while 荷 has 何 (hé) and 荸 has 孛 (bí). The meanings differ completely: 葙 is celosia, 荷 is lotus, and 荸 is water chestnut. Visually, the bottom part of each character is unique — 相, 何, and 孛 look quite different.

葙 is not common in everyday conversation but appears in botanical and traditional Chinese medicine contexts. The word 青葙子 refers to the seeds of the feather cockscomb, which are used in herbal remedies for eye health. The plant itself is also grown as an ornamental for its bright, rooster-comb-like flowers.

Common words containing 葙 include: 青葙 (qīng xiāng) — feather cockscomb; 青葙子 (qīng xiāng zi) — feather cockscomb seed (Semen Celosiae); 葙草 (xiāng cǎo) — celosia plant.