How to Write 荨 (xún) — Meaning “nettle”

Imagine walking through a grassy field and accidentally touching a nettle plant. You then frantically 'search' (寻) for a remedy to soothe the sting. The grass radical (艹) reminds you it is a plant, and the phonetic 寻 helps with the pronunciation xún.

Write the grass radical first: a horizontal stroke, then two vertical strokes, all on top. The lower part 寻 starts with a horizontal stroke, then the character 寸 (dot, horizontal, hook, dot). A common mistake is making the grass radical too narrow or forgetting the dot inside 寸.

荨 (xún) has the phonetic component 寻 (to search) below the grass radical, while 兹 (zī) has 玄 (mysterious) below the grass. 芈 (mǐ) looks different because its lower part is like a modified 'sheep' or 'non' shape. In meaning, 荨 is used for nettle and hives, 兹 is a literary word meaning 'this' or 'now', and 芈 is mainly a rare surname.

This character appears almost exclusively in the medical term 荨麻疹 (xún má zhěn, meaning hives or urticaria) and the plant name 荨麻 (xún má, nettle). It is not a common everyday character, so you will mostly see it in health contexts or plant descriptions. A cultural note: nettles are known for causing skin irritation, which is why the word for hives uses this character.

Common words containing 荨 include: 荨麻疹 (xún má zhěn) — hives; urticaria; 荨麻 (xún má) — nettle.