草
grass; herb; straw
HSK level
- Pinyin
- cǎo
- Part of speech
- noun
- Level
- HSK 3
- Strokes
- 9
- Register
- neutral
- Measure word
- 棵 / 根
- In episodes
- 2
Stroke order for 草
草 is written with 9 strokes. The animation replays automatically.
What does 草 mean?
草 (cǎo) is the noun for 'grass' — the green plant covering lawns, meadows, and fields.
It extends to mean any small green plant (herbs, weeds) and appears in many compounds: 草地 (lawn / grassland), 草原 (grassland / prairie), 草莓 (strawberry, literally 'grass berry'). Two differences from English: first, 草 in Chinese covers a wider range of small plants than English 'grass' — it can suggest weeds, herbs, or any low-growing vegetation; second, the measure word matters. For a single blade, use 棵 or 根; for an expanse of grass, use 片.
A common sign in Chinese parks reads 请勿踏草 (please do not step on the grass). The character 草 itself appears as the radical 艹 at the top of many plant-related characters (花, 茶, 菜), so recognizing 草 helps you read many other words.
Hear 草 in real episodes
草 appears in 2 Fluentide podcast episodes at natural native speed. Each sentence plays at the easiest difficulty it exists in — switch it to hear the same moment at your level, with full pinyin and English throughout.
这种马，自己在草里。
This kind of horse is out in the grass on its own.
The First in Two Hundred Years: Wild Horses Have Foaled on Their Own on the Kazakh Steppe — and Their Father Did Not Live to See It
水回来了，草就来了。
The water came back, and the grass came.
He Gave Seventy Acres of Century-Old Barley Ground Back to the Water — Now It Holds 140 Bird Species and Two Fish That Had Almost Stopped Reproducing
Example sentences
公园里的草很绿。
Gōngyuán lǐ de cǎo hěn lǜ.
The grass in the park is very green.
neutral
请不要在草地上走。
Qǐng búyào zài cǎodì shàng zǒu.
Please don't walk on the lawn.
polite
小狗在草地上跑来跑去。
Xiǎo gǒu zài cǎodì shàng pǎo lái pǎo qù.
The puppy is running around on the grass.
spoken
春天到了，小草都绿了。
Chūntiān dào le, xiǎo cǎo dōu lǜ le.
Spring has arrived — the little grass is all green.
neutral
Common phrases with 草
Synonyms
草地 means a 'grass-covered area / lawn,' emphasizing the place. 草 is the plant itself. You sit on 草地 (the lawn) but you pick a piece of 草 (the grass).
Don't confuse 草 with
花 means 'flower' — both share the grass radical 艹 at the top. 花 is colorful and decorative; 草 is green and humble.
茶 means 'tea.' Shares the grass radical 艹 with 草 because tea leaves are plants. Different sound, different meaning.
早 means 'morning / early' and looks somewhat similar to 草 (both have the 日 / 十 element on top), but 草 has the grass radical 艹 above. Watch the top of the character.
FAQ
Related words from the same episodes
Acquire it by listening
Meet 草 again — in real Chinese, at your level.
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