About
蒯 (kuǎi) is a phono-semantic compound originally naming a coarse grass or rush woven into mats, baskets, and rudimentary ropes. The grass radical 艹 (cǎo) marks it as a plant, while the lower component fuses 萠 (a shoot) and 刂 (cut), evoking a shoot harvested for building material and guiding the pronunciation. Common in classical texts for woven goods, the character later shifted almost exclusively to an uncommon Chinese surname.
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