Definitions

luó (noun) radish

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound. Simplified form of .

Semantic: Phonetic:

About

The character 萝, originating from the traditional form 蘿, is structured as a phono-semantic compound where the grass radical (艹) signifies its association with plants, while the component 羅 provides both phonetic guidance and a semantic hint related to netting or entanglement, alluding to the creeping nature of the vegetation it originally described. Over time, its meaning shifted from a general reference to trailing vines to a more specialized role in modern Chinese, where it appears almost exclusively within specific botanical compounds such as 萝卜 for radish and 菠萝 for pineapple, thus narrowing its semantic scope. The evolution of its written form involved simplifying the phonetic element from 羅 to 罗, resulting in the contemporary character 萝, which preserves the original conceptual and auditory links while adapting its visual complexity.

Etymology Hide

Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

这是一个卜。

Zhè shì yī gè luóbo.

This is a radish.

妈妈买了许多卜。

Māma mǎile xǔduō luóbo.

Mom bought many radishes.

卜对眼睛好。

Húluóbo duì yǎnjīng hǎo.

Carrots are good for your eyes.

是一种水果。

Bōluó shì yī zhǒng shuǐguǒ.

Pineapple is a type of fruit.

奶奶用卜做了汤。

Nǎinai yòng luóbo zuòle tāng.

Grandma made soup with radishes.

市场上卜的价格很便宜。

Shìchǎng shàng luóbo de jiàgé hěn piányi.

The price of radishes in the market is very cheap.

如果你不喜欢卜,可以试试菠

Rúguǒ nǐ bù xǐhuān luóbo, kěyǐ shìshi bōluó.

If you don't like radishes, you can try pineapple.

在种植卜时,需要注意土壤和水分。

Zài zhòngzhí luóbo shí, xūyào zhùyì tǔrǎng hé shuǐfèn.

When growing radishes, attention must be paid to soil and moisture.