茂 meaning and stroke order
Thick, lush, dense; talented
How to write 茂, stroke by stroke
8 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
Meaning of 茂
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- luxuriant
- (chemistry) cyclopentadiene
How 茂 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Grass.
艹 gives the meaning and 戊 hints at the sound.
Radical: 艹 (grass), shared by 421 characters on this site.
How to remember 茂
The grass radical 艹 on top tells you this is about plants, and 戊 (wù) underneath gives the sound. Picture grass growing so thick it piles up over 戊, burying it in green.
茂 is rarely used alone in speech. It appears mostly in words like 茂盛 (màoshèng) and 茂密 (màomì) to describe thriving plants, and in set phrases such as 图文并茂 (túwén bìngmào), meaning rich in both pictures and text. Example: 公园里的树很茂盛。(Gōngyuán lǐ de shù hěn màoshèng.) The trees in the park are very lush.
Common mistake: Learners often write the bottom part as 戌 (xū) or 戍 (shù) instead of 戊 (wù). 戊 has no extra stroke inside, while 戌 has a horizontal stroke and 戍 has a dot. Also keep the fourth tone in mào, not máo.
Common words with 茂
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
茂 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 茂
How many strokes are in 茂?
茂 is written with 8 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 茂 mean?
茂 (mào) means thick, lush, dense; talented. A common word with it is 茂盛 (màoshèng), meaning "lush".
How do you pronounce 茂?
茂 is pronounced mào, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 茂?
The radical of 茂 is 艹, which carries the idea of "grass". Dictionaries list 茂 under this radical.
Is 茂 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 茂 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 茂盛 and 茂密?
茂盛 (màoshèng) stresses that plants are flourishing and full of life, and it can also describe a thriving business. 茂密 (màomì) stresses density, meaning plants grow close together, as in 茂密的森林 (màomì de sēnlín), a dense forest.
Can 茂 describe people?
Yes, in literary or set expressions. 风华正茂 (fēnghuá zhèng mào) describes young people in their prime, full of talent and energy. In everyday speech, 茂 is mainly used for plants.