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The character "葭" is structured with the grass radical (艹) above the component "叚", signaling its classification as a plant. It originally referred specifically to the initial shoot of a reed or rush, and its meaning later expanded to denote the reed plant itself. In classical texts, "葭" appears in the compound "葭莩", where it literally indicates the thin membrane inside a reed stalk, a usage that subsequently took on a metaphorical sense to describe tenuous familial relationships. The character's form has not been simplified, and its core botanical sense continues alongside these extended figurative meanings.
Etymology Hide
