草

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See also: 艸
草 U+8349, 草
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-8349
← 荈
[U+8348] 		CJK Unified Ideographs 荊 →
[U+834A]

Translingual

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Stroke order
9 strokes
Stroke order (Hong Kong)
10 strokes
Stroke order (Taiwan)
10 strokes

Han character

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草 (Kangxi radical 140, 艸+6, 10 strokes in traditional Chinese and Korean, 9 strokes in simplified Chinese and Japanese, cangjie input 廿日十 (TAJ), four-corner 44406, composition ⿱艹早)

Derived characters

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References

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  • Kangxi Dictionary: page 1030, character 17
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 30945
  • Dae Jaweon: page 1489, character 14
  • Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 5, page 3203, character 4
  • Unihan data for U+8349

Chinese

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trad. 草
simp. # 草
alternative forms
屮
艸
𢂉
𦯑
𦯨
屮
艸
𢂉
𦯑
𦯨
𦳕
𦷣
𦳱
騲／𮪤
 

Glyph origin

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Historical forms of the character 草
Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han) Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Small seal script Transcribed ancient scripts
Characters in the same phonetic series (早) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 
Old Chinese
早 *ʔsuːʔ
草 *sʰuːʔ
愺 *sʰuːʔ
騲 *sʰuːʔ
皁 *zuːʔ
皂 *zuːʔ

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *sʰuːʔ) : semantic 艹 (“grass; plant”) + phonetic 早 (OC *ʔsuːʔ). Originally referred to 皂, and later borrowed for the “grass” sense, replacing 艸.

Etymology 1

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From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *r-tswa-n (“grass”); cognate with Tibetan རྩྭ (rtswa, “grass”) (Schuessler, 2007; STEDT).

Alternatively, it may be related to 芻 (OC *sʰro, “hay”), from Austroasiatic; compare Mon ချဲ (“grass; weeds; hay”) (Schuessler, 2007).

Pronunciation

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Note:
  • chāu - vernacular;
  • chō̤ - literary.
Note:
  • cor3 - vernacular;
  • cao3 - literary.
Note:
  • chháu - vernacular;
  • chhó/chhó͘ - literary.
Note:
  • co2 - vernacular;
  • cao2 - literary.
  • Dialectal data
Variety Location 草
Mandarin Beijing /t͡sʰɑu²¹⁴/
Harbin /t͡sʰau²¹³/
Tianjin /t͡sʰɑu¹³/
Jinan /t͡sʰɔ⁵⁵/
Qingdao /t͡sʰɔ⁵⁵/
Zhengzhou /t͡sʰau⁵³/
Xi'an /t͡sʰau⁵³/
Xining /t͡sʰɔ⁵³/
Yinchuan /t͡sʰɔ⁵³/
Lanzhou /t͡sʰɔ⁴⁴²/
Ürümqi /t͡sʰɔ⁵¹/
Wuhan /t͡sʰau⁴²/
Chengdu /t͡sʰau⁵³/
Guiyang /t͡sʰao⁴²/
Kunming /t͡sʰɔ⁵³/
Nanjing /t͡sʰɔo²¹²/
Hefei /t͡sʰɔ²⁴/
Jin Taiyuan /t͡sʰau⁵³/
Pingyao /t͡sʰɔ⁵³/
Hohhot /t͡sʰɔ⁵³/
Wu Shanghai /t͡sʰɔ³⁵/
Suzhou /t͡sʰæ⁵¹/
Hangzhou /t͡sʰɔ⁵³/
Wenzhou /t͡sʰɜ³⁵/
Hui Shexian /t͡sʰɔ³⁵/
Tunxi /t͡sʰə³¹/
Xiang Changsha /t͡sʰau⁴¹/
Xiangtan /t͡sʰaɯ⁴²/
Gan Nanchang /t͡sʰɑu²¹³/
Hakka Meixian /t͡sʰau³¹/
Taoyuan /t͡sʰo³¹/
Cantonese Guangzhou /t͡sʰou³⁵/
Nanning /t͡sʰu³⁵/
Hong Kong /t͡sʰou³⁵/
Min Xiamen (Hokkien) /t͡sʰo⁵³/
/t͡sʰau⁵³/
Fuzhou (Eastern Min) /t͡sʰau³²/
Jian'ou (Northern Min) /t͡sʰau²¹/
Shantou (Teochew) /t͡sʰau⁵³/
/t͡sʰo⁵³/
Haikou (Hainanese) /sau²¹³/
Rime
Character 草
Reading # 1/1
Initial (聲) 清 (14)
Final (韻) 豪 (89)
Tone (調) Rising (X)
Openness (開合) Open
Division (等) I
Fanqie 采老切
Baxter tshawX
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang 		/t͡sʰɑuX/
Pan
Wuyun 		/t͡sʰɑuX/
Shao
Rongfen 		/t͡sʰɑuX/
Edwin
Pulleyblank 		/t͡sʰawX/
Li
Rong 		/t͡sʰɑuX/
Wang
Li 		/t͡sʰɑuX/
Bernard
Karlgren 		/t͡sʰɑuX/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex 		cǎo
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex 		cou2
Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character 草 草
Reading # 1/2 2/2
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin) 		cǎo cǎo
Middle
Chinese 		‹ tshawX › ‹ tshawX ›
Old
Chinese 		/*[tsʰ]ˁuʔ/ /*[tsʰ]ˁuʔ/
English grass, plants rough, coarse

Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system:

* Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence;
* Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p;
* Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix;
* Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary;

* Period "." indicates syllable boundary.
Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character 草
Reading # 1/1
No. 16547
Phonetic
component 		早
Rime
group 		幽
Rime
subdivision 		1
Corresponding
MC rime 		草
Old
Chinese 		/*sʰuːʔ/
Notes 說文作艸
草

Definitions

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草

  1. herbaceous plant; herb; weed; wort; grass; forb
    草地上有一頭牛在吃草。 [MSC, trad.]
    草地上有一头牛在吃草。 [MSC, simp.]
    Cǎodì shàng yǒu yī tóu niú zài chī cǎo. [Pinyin]
    There is one cow eating grass on the lawn.
    香草  ―  xiāngcǎo  ―  fragrant herb
    除草  ―  chúcǎo  ―  to weed
    草木樨  ―  cǎomùxī  ―  sweet clover
    草魚／草鱼  ―  cǎoyú  ―  grass carp (a herbivorous fish)
  2. Used in names of some woody plants.
    莽草  ―  mǎngcǎo  ―  Illicium henryi and Illicium lanceolatum
    舞草  ―  wǔcǎo  ―  Codariocalyx motorius
    醉魚草／醉鱼草  ―  zuìyúcǎo  ―  Buddleja lindleyana
  3. straw
    稻草  ―  dàocǎo  ―  rice straw
    草鞋  ―  cǎoxié  ―  straw sandals
  4. (Cantonese, slang) marijuana; cannabis; weed
    㨃草 [Cantonese]  ―  deoi2 cou2 [Jyutping]  ―  to smoke weed
  5. (dated) countryside; wilderness
    草野  ―  cǎoyě  ―  wilderness
    落草為寇／落草为寇  ―  luòcǎowéikòu  ―  to become a bandit in the countryside
  6. common; ordinary
    草民  ―  cǎomín  ―  common people
    草球  ―  cǎoqiú  ―  Echinopsis oxygona
    草金魚／草金鱼  ―  cǎojīnyú  ―  common goldfish
    草龜／草龟  ―  cǎoguī  ―  Mauremys reevesii (the most common turtle in China)
    草狗  ―  cǎogǒu  ―  native breeds of dog
    草雞／草鸡  ―  cǎojī  ―  native breeds of chiken
  7. (dialectal, chiefly of livestock or poultry) female (variant: 騲)
    草馬／草马  ―  cǎomǎ  ―  female horse
    草狗  ―  cǎogǒu  ―  female dog
    草雞／草鸡  ―  cǎojī  ―  hen
  8. careless; rough; sloppy
    草率  ―  cǎolǜ  ―  hasty
    草書／草书  ―  cǎoshū  ―  cursive script
  9. (calligraphy) Short for 草書／草书 (cǎoshū, “cursive script (grass script)”).
    狂草  ―  kuángcǎo  ―  wild cursive script
  10. draft; sketch
    草擬／草拟  ―  cǎonǐ  ―  to draft; to draw up (a plan)
  11. (chemistry) oxalic
Synonyms
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Dialectal synonyms of 大麻 (“marijuana; cannabis”) [map]
Variety Location Words
Formal (Written Standard Chinese) 大麻
Northeastern Mandarin Taiwan 大麻
Cantonese Hong Kong 大麻, 草
Wu Shanghai 葉子

Compounds

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Descendants

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Sino-Xenic (草):
  • → Japanese: 草(そう) (sō)
  • → Korean: 초(草) (cho)
  • → Vietnamese: thảo (草)

Others:

  • Vietnamese: tháu (“scrawling”)

Etymology 2

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For pronunciation and definitions of 草 – see 皂 (“black; acorn; etc.”).
(This character is a variant form of 皂).

Etymology 3

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Pronunciation

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Definitions

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草

  1. (slang, euphemistic, Internet slang) Alternative form of 肏 (“fuck”)

Etymology 4

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Orthographic borrowing from Japanese 草 (kusa, “LOL”). See the Japanese entry for more information.

As an interjection, this term is easily confused with the native “fuck” sense above. To distinguish between the two senses, 中國語／中国语 (Zhōngguóyǔ, “Chinese”) and 日本語／日本语 (Rìběnyǔ, “Japanese”) are usually put in parentheses following the term to specify which sense is intended.

Pronunciation

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Definitions

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草

  1. (neologism, Internet slang) LOL
    草（中日雙語）／草（中日双语）  ―  cǎo (zhōngrì shuāngyǔ)  ―  fuck lmao (literally, “草 (in Chinese and Japanese)”)
  2. (neologism, Internet slang) hilarious
    這也太草了吧。／这也太草了吧。  ―  Zhè yě tài cǎo le ba.  ―  Isn't this a bit too hilarious?

References

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Japanese

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Kanji

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草

(First grade kyōiku kanji)

Readings

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Compounds

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Compounds

Etymology 1

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Kanji in this term
草
くさ
Grade: 1
kun'yomi
Alternative spelling
艸 (uncommon)

From Old Japanese, ultimately from Proto-Japonic *kusa. Found in the Man'yōshū, completed some time after 759 CE.[1] Possibly cognate with Korean 꽃 (kkot, “flower”).

The development of the fake, amateur senses is unclear.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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草(くさ) • (kusa) 

  1. grass
    Synonym: (in reference to a lawn) 芝生 (shibafu)
    草(くさ)を刈(か)る
    kusa o karu
    to cut grass
  2. a weed
  3. a herb
    Synonyms: ハーブ (hābu), (medicinal) 薬草 (yakusō), (cooking) 香草 (kōsō)
  4. a scout, a spy (from the way one would hide in the grass to observe enemy troops)
  5. (figurative, slang, rare) pubic hair

Derived terms

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Prefix

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草(くさ) • (kusa-) 

  1. a fake, a mimic, not the real thing
    草(くさ)蜉蝣(かげろう)
    kusakagerō
    a lacewing fly (literally, “fake or mimic dragonfly”, from the visual resemblance)
  2. amateur, small-time
    草(くさ)野(や)球(きゅう)、草(くさ)競(けい)馬(ば)
    kusayakyū, kusakeiba
    amateur or pick-up baseball, small-time horse-racing

Etymology 2

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Kanji in this term
草
そう
Grade: 1
on'yomi

/sau/ → /sɔː/ → /soː/

From Middle Chinese 草 (MC tshawX).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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草(そう) • (sō) ←さう (sau)?

  1. grass
  2. a draft, a rough copy
  3. cursive, calligraphy in a running hand
  4. something unofficial, an informal abbreviation or knock-off
Synonyms
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Etymology 3

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Kanji in this term
草
くさ
Grade: 1
kun'yomi

From the resemblance of multiple repetitions of w (w, “LOL”) to grass: wwwwwwwww.

Possibly influenced by the term くすくす (kusukusu), an adverb indicating stifled laughter. (Can this(+) etymology be sourced?)

Pronunciation

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Interjection

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草(くさ) • (kusa) 

  1. (Internet slang) LOL

Noun

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草(くさ) • (kusa) 

  1. (Internet slang) "grass", in reference to the expression w (w, “LOL”); LOLs

Phrase

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草(くさ) • (kusa) 

  1. Ellipsis of 草(が)生える (kusa (ga) haeru, literally “grass grows”): (Internet slang) … it's hilarious
    Synonyms: 草(が)生える (kusa (ga) haeru, literally “grass grows”), 笑える (waraeru, “(it is) laughable”)
    鯖(さば)落(お)ちてて草(くさ)
    saba ochitete kusa
    lol the server's down
    下手(へた)すぎて草(くさ)
    heta-sugite kusa
    hilariously shitty
    4日(よっか)しかないのは草(くさ)
    yokka shika nai no wa kusa
    only 4 days left haha
    つべで紹介(しょうかい)されてて草(くさ)
    Tsube de shōkai saretete kusa
    it got introduced on YouTube lol
Derived terms
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See also

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References

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  1. ^ “草・艸”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎[1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

Korean

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Etymology

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(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “Middle Korean readings, if any”)

Pronunciation

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Hanja

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Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

Wikisource

草 (eumhun 풀 초 (pul cho))

  1. hanja form? of 초 (“grass”)

Vietnamese

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Han character

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草: Hán Nôm readings: thảo, tháu, xáo

  1. chữ Hán form of thảo (“grass; herbs; draft”).
  2. chữ Hán form of Thảo (“a female given name”).
    阮氏芳草 ― Nguyễn Thị Phương Thảo

Compounds

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References

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