蔻 meaning and stroke order
Nutmeg, cardamom
How to write 蔻, stroke by stroke
14 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 蔻
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- used in 豆蔻[dou4 kou4]
How 蔻 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Herb.
艹 gives the meaning and 寇 hints at the sound.
Radical: 艹 (grass), shared by 421 characters on this site.
How to remember 蔻
The grass radical 艹 on top marks a plant, and 寇 (kòu) underneath gives the sound. Picture a bandit 寇 hiding under herbs to steal spices like cardamom.
蔻 almost never appears alone. It shows up in 豆蔻 (dòukòu, cardamom) and 肉豆蔻 (ròudòukòu, nutmeg). Example: 这道菜放了一点肉豆蔻。(Zhè dào cài fàng le yìdiǎn ròudòukòu.) This dish has a little nutmeg in it.
Common mistake: Learners often write 寇 alone or confuse it with 冠 (guān), which looks similar but has no 攴-like part on the right. Remember that 蔻 needs the 艹 on top and is read in the fourth tone, kòu.
Questions about 蔻
How many strokes are in 蔻?
蔻 is written with 14 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 蔻 mean?
蔻 (kòu) means nutmeg, cardamom.
How do you pronounce 蔻?
蔻 is pronounced kòu, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 蔻?
The radical of 蔻 is 艹, which carries the idea of "grass". Dictionaries list 蔻 under this radical.
What does 豆蔻年华 mean?
豆蔻年华 (dòukòu niánhuá) is a literary phrase for a girl around thirteen or fourteen years old. It comes from a Tang poem by Du Mu that compares a young girl to cardamom blossoms.
Is 蔻 used in the word for nail polish?
Yes. 蔻丹 (kòudān) is an older loanword for nail polish, from the brand name Cutex. Today people more often say 指甲油 (zhǐjia yóu).