草

cǎo

c+ǎo·3rd tone

grass · straw

Radical: 艹 Strokes: 9 HSK 2

Structure: Top small, bottom largeFrequency: Common

Same radical

花节落营英药苦菜蒙荣藏薄

Same radical

花节落营英药苦菜蒙荣藏薄荒若荡

New to Chinese?Start with pinyin·See the learning path

Stroke Order · 9 strokes (click to expand)

Click the button below to start stroke animation

Character Decomposition

草=艹+早

Etymology

grass

Meanings

grass

straw

manuscript

draft (of a document)

careless

rough

CL:棵 kē,撮 zuǒ,株 zhū,根 gēn

cǎo

Loading examples…

Words with 草 819 total

a book on Chinese (herbal) medicine · Chinese materia medica本草běn cǎo draft (legislation, proposal etc)草案cǎo àn bag made of woven straw · bag filled with straw · (fig.) a good-for-nothing · clumsy oaf草包cǎo bāo herbaceous · original draft (of a manuscript etc)草本cǎo běn straw weaving草编cǎo biān hay干草gān cǎo hotel linens布草bù cǎo to mow grass · haymaking · to write a rough draft (of an essay etc)打草dǎ cǎo (old) sign made of woven weeds, placed on an object, an animal or a person, indicating that it is for sale.草标cǎo biāo

Idioms with 草 124 total Chain

before the troops move, fodder and provisions go first (idiom); logistics comes before military maneuvers · an army marches on its stomach兵马未动，粮草先行bīng mǎ wèi dòng , liáng cǎo xiān xíng to rush through the work · to get through a thing carelessly草草了事cǎo cǎo liǎo shì to work vaguely then retreat (idiom); sloppy and half-hearted · half-baked草草收兵cǎo cǎo shōu bīng lit. using straw boats to borrow arrows (idiom, from) · fig. to use others' manpower and resources for one's own ends草船借箭cǎo chuán jiè jiàn