茂 (mào) is a Chinese character meaning “luxuriant”. It is written from 艹 (grass / plant radical) and 戊 (the 5th Heavenly Stem; used as the halberd-shaped frame of 戌 and 戍), one above the other, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “lush; thick with growth”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
艹 + 戊
Top–bottom structure
- 艹 grass / plant radical · cǎo meaning
- 戊 the 5th Heavenly Stem; used as the halberd-shaped frame of 戌 and 戍 · wù sound
Structure from: 说文解字：茂，艸豐盛。从艸戊聲；并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（艹 3 画 + 戊 5 画 = 8 画）
Memory aid
Grass (艹) has grown right over the old halberd frame 戊 — the plants are so thick the weapon underneath has disappeared. 茂 = lush, overgrown.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 茂盛mào shènglush; flourishing茂 = mào
- 茂密mào mìdense; thick (of vegetation)茂 = mào
Go deeper
All readings
luxuriant
luxuriant; lush; thick and flourishing (of grass and trees)
草木长得多而旺盛。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 茂盛mào shènglush; flourishing茂 = mào
- 茂密mào mìdense; thick (of vegetation)茂 = mào
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 茂 mean?
茂 (mào) means luxuriant; lush; thick and flourishing (of grass and trees).
How do you pronounce 茂?
It is pronounced mào.
What parts is 茂 made of?
艹 (grass / plant radical) and 戊 (the 5th Heavenly Stem; used as the halberd-shaped frame of 戌 and 戍), one above the other. The recorded source is: 说文解字：茂，艸豐盛。从艸戊聲；并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验（艹 3 画 + 戊 5 画 = 8 画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 茂 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 茂?
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 茂?
Common ones are 茂盛 and 茂密. The reading of 茂 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.