草
cǎo/t͡sʰɑʊ̯²¹⁴/
The English word 'grass' is translated into Chinese as 草 (cǎo). Wiktionary also lists 青草 (qīngcǎo) and 禾草 (hécǎo).
Meaning: ground cover plant (noun)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 草 | cǎo | /t͡sʰɑʊ̯²¹⁴/ (Mandarin, Standard Chinese, Sinological IPA) /t͡sʰau⁵³/ (Mandarin, Chengdu, Sinological IPA) |
|
| 青草 | qīngcǎo | /t͡ɕʰiŋ⁵⁵ t͡sʰɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/ (Mandarin, Standard Chinese, Sinological IPA) /t͡sʰɪŋ⁵⁵ t͡sʰou̯³⁵/ (Cantonese, Guangzhou, Sinological IPA, Standard Cantonese, Hong Kong) |
|
| 禾草 | hécǎo | /xɤ³⁵ t͡sʰɑʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/ (Mandarin, Standard Chinese, Sinological IPA) /wɔː²¹ t͡sʰou̯³⁵/ (Cantonese, Guangzhou, Sinological IPA, Standard Cantonese, Hong Kong) |
|
| 草 | chháu | /t͡sʰau⁵³/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Nan'an, Jinjiang, Sinological IPA, Taipei, General Taiwanese) /t͡sʰau⁵⁵⁴/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Nan'an, Jinjiang, Sinological IPA, General Taiwanese) |
Hokkien |
The term refers to ground cover plants. The term 草地 (cǎodì) is used to refer to a lawn or a patch of grassy ground, rather than just the plant itself.
What does it mean word for word?
The term 青草 (qīngcǎo) literally means 'green grass', combining the color green (青) with grass (草).
Which one should you use?
青草 (qīngcǎo) specifically emphasizes the color green, and 禾草 (hécǎo) is another way to refer to grass.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In the Dungan language, the word is written as цо (co). In Hokkien, the word is 草 (chháu).
How does it change in a sentence?
Adding the prefix 小 (xiǎo) to create 小草 (xiǎocǎo) is a common way to personify or refer to small blades of grass in a poetic or descriptive sense.
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation for 草 is cǎo.
Did you know?
- In modern digital communication, the character 草 is sometimes used as an internet slang interjection, similar to how 'grass' might be used in certain contexts, though it is often a phonetic stand-in for a profanity.
- Internet users sometimes use 草 as a slang interjection borrowed from the Japanese word 草 (kusa), which means 'LOL'.
- The character 草 contains a radical at the top, 艹, which is a specific symbol used in Chinese writing to indicate that a word is related to plants or vegetation.
Examples in context
- 不要踩草地。Keep off the grass.This sentence is useful for telling someone not to step on the 草 (grass).Tatoeba #6959856 by verdastelo9604, translation #265288 by CK
- 從草地裏出來。Stay off the grass.This sentence is useful for telling someone to stay off the 草 (grass).Tatoeba #5295474 by xjjAstrus, translation #1538934 by SHamp
- 草地看来不错。The grass looks nice.This sentence is useful for describing how the 草 (grass) looks.Tatoeba #5663601 by verdastelo9604, translation #265285 by CK
- 我喜欢在草地上踢足球。I enjoy playing soccer on the grass.
- 春天的时候，草坪上长满了青草。In springtime, the lawn is covered with green grass.
- 31 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Zhiqiang and Zihan are talking about gardening.
- 志强 Zhiqiang这里的草长得太快了。zhèlǐ de cǎo zhǎng de tài kuài le.The grass here is growing too fast.
- 梓涵 Zihan确实，我们需要除草了。quèshí, wǒmen xūyào chú cǎo le.Indeed, we need to weed the grass.
- 志强 Zhiqiang你打算什么时候割草？nǐ dǎsuàn shénme shíhou gē cǎo?When do you plan to mow the grass?
- 梓涵 Zihan我明天下午去割草。wǒ míngtiān xiàwǔ qù gē cǎo.I will cut the grass tomorrow afternoon.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “grass” translations and entries 草, 青草, 禾草, 草, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 草, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
