芋 (yù) is a Chinese character meaning “taro”. It is written from 艹 (grass / plant radical) and 于 (at; in; to), one above the other, and takes 6 strokes.
Build the character for “taro”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
艹 + 于
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画：3 笔艹 + 3 笔于 = 6 笔）
Memory aid
A grass top (艹) sitting on 于 ("at, in") — the plant whose edible part stays in the ground: taro. Both parts really are in this character, and 于 yú also hands you the sound yù.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
6 strokes
In real words
- 芋头yù toutaro (the root vegetable)芋 = yù
- 山芋shān yùsweet potato芋 = yù
Go deeper
All readings
taro
taro; a starchy tuber crop, also used for other tuberous plants
多年生草本植物，地下块茎可以吃；也用来指别的块茎作物。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 芋头yù toutaro (the root vegetable)芋 = yù
- 山芋shān yùsweet potato芋 = yù
Sound component
于 family tone diff
Easy to confuse with
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 芋 mean?
芋 (yù) means taro; a starchy tuber crop, also used for other tuberous plants.
How do you pronounce 芋?
It is pronounced yù.
What parts is 芋 made of?
艹 (grass / plant radical) and 于 (at; in; to), one above the other. The recorded source is: studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画：3 笔艹 + 3 笔于 = 6 笔）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 芋 have?
6. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 芋?
艹. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 芋?
Common ones are 芋头 and 山芋. The reading of 芋 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.