艹
cǎo zì tóu
Two sprouts on the roof, and you get flowers, tea and medicine
The picture Two shoots of grass poking up side by side, sitting on the roof of the character. 艹 is thin grass that comes up new each year, 木 is the tree that stands thick in one place.
Where the picture shows up in 艹
-
shoots out of the ground
请别踩草地。
qǐng bié cǎi cǎodì
Please don't walk on the grass.
Blades pushing up through the soil until they cover the ground thickly
-
the tip of the stem opening
桌上放着一束花。
zhuō shàng fàng zhe yí shù huā
There's a bunch of flowers on the desk.
The tip of a stem swelling and bursting wide open
-
leaves picked to be eaten
这个菜有点咸。
zhège cài yǒudiǎn xián
This dish is a bit salty.
Leaves picked from the field, now sitting on a plate
-
leaves steeped in water
我要一杯热茶。
wǒ yào yì bēi rè chá
A cup of hot tea, please.
Dried leaves unfurling in hot water and turning the water's colour
-
plants boiled down and swallowed
饭后请吃药。
fàn hòu qǐng chī yào
Please take the medicine after eating.
Water boiled down from roots and stalks going down the throat
All of it in one picture
艹 is two shoots just out of the ground. Let them spread and it is grass; let the stem tip swell and open and it is a flower. Pick them onto a plate and it is a dish; dry them and steep them in hot water and it is tea. Boil them down, roots and all, and swallow, and it is medicine.