How to Write 荇 (xìng) — Meaning “fringed water lily”

Picture the radical 艹 as the leaves of a water lily floating on the water, while 行 looks like a path or a row of flowers growing across the pond. Imagine walking along a path (行) through a field of grass (艹) to pick water lilies — that is 荇.

The top radical 艹 is written with the left vertical stroke first, then the right vertical, and finally the horizontal connecting them — do not make it too wide. The lower part 行 uses the double-dot man radical (彳) on the left and 亍 on the right; keep the left side slightly narrower than the right so the whole character stays balanced.

Unlike 兹 (zī), which means 'now' or 'this' and rarely has a plant meaning, 荇 specifically refers to the fringed water lily plant. 芈 (mǐ) is an ancient surname and has no connection to plants at all; visually, 荇 has the grass radical on top, while 芈 has two horizontal lines on top and looks like a sheep's bleat.

You will mostly find 荇 in classical poetry and nature writing, such as the famous line '参差荇菜' from the Book of Songs describing water lilies drifting on a river. In everyday modern Chinese, it is not common, but you might see it in literary or botanical contexts to talk about the fringed water lily plant.

Common words containing 荇 include: 荇菜 (xìng cài) — fringed water lily; 参差荇菜 (cēn cī xìng cài) — Uneven yellow floating hearts (aquatic plants).; 采荇 (cǎi xìng) — to gather water lilies.