艸 部首 140 — grass, herbs, plants

Where the shape comes from

Two shoots side by side, each pushing a pair of leaves out of the ground — 屮 written twice. Nobody writes the full 艸 any more: on top of a character it is the flat three-stroke 艹, and it heads almost every plant name in the language, along with what is made from plants: 花, 草, 茶, 药, 菜, 苹.

汉字 filed under 艸

• 花huā (first tone, high and level)flower, blossom; patterned, multicoloured; to spend (money or time)7
• 草cǎo (third tone, dipping)grass, straw; rough, careless; a draft, a rough copy; the cursive script9
• 药/藥yào (fourth tone, falling)medicine, a drug; a herbal remedy; a chemical preparation9