About
The character 茂 is a phono-semantic compound. The semantic component 艹 (cǎo), representing grass or vegetation, sits above the phonetic component 戊 (wù), an Earthly Branch originally depicting a weapon. This grass radical categorizes the character within the botanical domain. Its original meaning described lush, flourishing vegetation, referring to areas where plants grow thickly. Over time, the sense extended metaphorically to describe human talent, rich cultural production, or any state of thriving abundance. The structure pairs a categorical marker for flora with a phonetic element to distinguish it from other plant-related characters, effectively conveying the idea of dense organic growth.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
公园里的草木很茂盛。
森林茂密，空气清新。
夏天，植物生长得茂盛。
这片茂盛的草原很美。
茂密的枝叶遮挡了阳光。
由于雨水充足，庄稼长得茂盛。
在茂盛的森林里，有许多野生动物。
尽管天气干旱，但这片树林依然茂密，令人惊叹。