藹 meaning and stroke order
Lush; friendly, affable
How to write 藹, stroke by stroke
20 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 藹
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- friendly
How 藹 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Grass.
艹 gives the meaning and 謁 hints at the sound.
Radical: 艹 (grass), shared by 421 characters on this site.
How to remember 藹
Grass 艹 on top gives the old sense of lush, thick plants, and 謁 (yè) below gives the sound. Picture someone paying a visit (謁) in a soft, green garden, and the mood is warm and friendly.
Today 藹 is the traditional form and appears mostly in the word 和藹 (hé'ǎi, simplified 和蔼), used to describe a kind, gentle manner, often of older people or teachers. Example: 老師很和藹。(Lǎoshī hěn hé'ǎi.) The teacher is very kind.
Common mistake: Learners often write the bottom as 謁 without the speech radical 言, or confuse it with 靄 (ǎi, mist), which has 雨 on top instead of 艹. Both are read ǎi, so check the top part.
Common words with 藹
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 和藹 | hé'ǎi | kindly; nice | HSK 7-9 |
Questions about 藹
How many strokes are in 藹?
藹 is written with 20 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 藹 mean?
藹 (ǎi) means lush; friendly, affable. A common word with it is 和蔼 (hé'ǎi), meaning "kindly; nice".
How do you pronounce 藹?
藹 is pronounced ǎi, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 藹?
The radical of 藹 is 艹, which carries the idea of "grass". Dictionaries list 藹 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 藹?
藹 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 蔼, used in mainland China and Singapore.
Can I use 藹 on its own to say someone is friendly?
Not usually. In modern Chinese it almost always appears in set words like 和藹 or 藹然 (ǎirán, kindly). To say friendly alone, people use 友好 (yǒuhǎo) or 親切 (qīnqiè).
What is the difference between 和藹 and 親切?
和藹 stresses a gentle, calm, approachable manner, often from someone older or senior. 親切 means warm and close, and can describe people, words, or feelings more broadly.