芥 (jiè) is a Chinese character meaning “mustard plant”. It is written from 艹 (grass / plant radical) and 介 (to be between; to interpose (in 价 it is the sound part)), one above the other, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “mustard”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
艹 + 介
Top–bottom structure
- 艹 grass / plant radical · cǎo meaning
- 介 to be between; to interpose (in 价 it is the sound part) · jiè sound
Structure from: studyhanzi 现代字形拆分（对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画：3 笔艹 + 4 笔介 = 7 笔）
Memory aid
A plant (艹) sitting on top of 介 — and 介 is not just a shape here, it is the sound: jiè reads jiè. The plant whose seeds you grind into mustard.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 芥末jiè momustard (condiment); wasabi芥 = jiè
- 芥菜jiè càimustard greens (the leafy vegetable)芥 = jiè
Go deeper
All readings
mustard
mustard plant; mustard greens; (figuratively) a tiny, trivial thing
一年生草本植物，种子磨成粉就是芥末；也比喻极微小的东西。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 芥末jiè momustard (condiment); wasabi芥 = jiè
- 芥菜jiè càimustard greens (the leafy vegetable)芥 = jiè
Rare readings, not taught: gài
Sound component
介 family exact
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 芥 mean?
芥 (jiè) means mustard plant; mustard greens; (figuratively) a tiny, trivial thing.
How do you pronounce 芥?
It is pronounced jiè.
What parts is 芥 made of?
艹 (grass / plant radical) and 介 (to be between; to interpose (in 价 it is the sound part)), 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 + 4 笔介 = 7 笔）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 芥 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 芥?
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 芥?
Common ones are 芥末 and 芥菜. The reading of 芥 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.