葵

kuí

癸 + 艹

Definitions

kuí used in the names of various herbaceous plants

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 艹 represents the meaning and 癸 represents the sound.

Semantic: 艹 Phonetic: 癸

About

葵 (kuí) is a phono-semantic compound: the grass radical 艹 (cǎo) marks it as a herbaceous plant, while the phonetic 癸 (guǐ) supplies the sound. Originally, the character referred to various edible mallows and leafy vegetables cultivated in ancient times. Over centuries, shifting agriculture and introduced plants led its primary meaning to become "sunflower", now firmly rooted in the ubiquitous compound 向日葵 (xiàngrìkuí, literally "sun-facing plant"), the modern term for the flower.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

向日葵很漂亮。

Xiàngrìkuí hěn piàoliang.

Sunflowers are very beautiful.

葵花籽很好吃。

Kuíhuāzǐ hěn hǎochī.

Sunflower seeds are delicious.

花园里种了许多向日葵。

Huāyuán lǐ zhòng le xǔduō xiàngrìkuí.

Many sunflowers are planted in the garden.

妈妈用葵花籽油做饭。

Māma yòng kuíhuāzǐ yóu zuò fàn.

Mom uses sunflower oil to cook.

蒲葵的叶子可以用来做扇子。

Púkuí de yèzi kěyǐ yòng lái zuò shànzi.

The leaves of the palm tree can be used to make fans.

向日葵总是朝着太阳生长。

Xiàngrìkuí zǒng shì cháo zhe tàiyáng shēngzhǎng.

Sunflowers always grow towards the sun.

在炎热的夏天，葵扇能带来凉风。

Zài yánrè de xiàtiān, kuíshàn néng dài lái liángfēng.

In the hot summer, palm leaf fans can bring cool breeze.

葵花的金黄色花瓣在阳光下闪闪发光。

Kuíhuā de jīnhuáng sè huābàn zài yángguāng xià shǎnshǎn fāguāng.

The golden yellow petals of sunflowers glitter in the sunlight.

Related Characters

Component: 癸

Component: 艹

葵