芦 meaning and stroke order
Rushes, reeds
How to write 芦, stroke by stroke
7 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 芦
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (bound form) reed
How 芦 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Grass.
艹 gives the meaning and 户 hints at the sound.
Radical: 艹 (grass), shared by 421 characters on this site.
How to remember 芦
Grass 艹 grows on top of a door 户 (hù). Picture tall reeds by a riverside hut, so thick they hang over the door.
芦 (lú) rarely stands alone. It appears in words like 芦苇 (lúwěi, reed), 芦花 (lúhuā, reed flowers) and 芦笋 (lúsǔn, asparagus). Example: 我喜欢吃芦笋。(Wǒ xǐhuan chī lúsǔn.) I like eating asparagus.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 芦 with 户 (hù, door) or 炉 (lú, stove), which has the same sound but uses the fire radical 火. Also note that in 葫芦 (húlu) the 芦 is read in the neutral tone, not lú.
Common words with 芦
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
芦 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 芦
How many strokes are in 芦?
芦 is written with 7 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 芦 mean?
芦 (lú) means rushes, reeds. A common word with it is 芦花 (lúhuā), meaning "reed catkin; reed flower".
How do you pronounce 芦?
芦 is pronounced lú, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 芦?
The radical of 芦 is 艹, which carries the idea of "grass". Dictionaries list 芦 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 芦?
The traditional form of 芦 is 蘆. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 芦 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 芦 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 芦 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Why does asparagus use the character for reed?
芦笋 (lúsǔn) literally means reed shoot. The name compares the young asparagus spears to the edible young shoots of reeds, since both are tender stalks.
What does 葫芦 mean besides gourd?
葫芦 (húlu) mainly means a bottle gourd or calabash. It also appears in the sense of a hoist, and in the saying 葫芦里卖的什么药, which asks what someone is secretly up to.