草 (cǎo) is a Chinese character meaning “grass”. It is written from 艹 (grass / plant radical) and 早 (early; morning), one above the other, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “grass”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
艹 + 早
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: 说文解字「草，艸斗……从艸早聲」；现代字形拆分 ⿱艹早，对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「艹」，笔画 3–8 与「早」逐笔对应（3+6=9 画）
Memory aid
The grass top 艹 sits over 早 (early): grass is what you see everywhere early in the morning. 早 zǎo is also the sound clue for cǎo.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 草坪cǎo pínglawn; grass field草 = cǎo
- 草丛cǎo cónga clump of tall grass; the undergrowth草 = cǎo
- 艾草ài cǎomugwort草 = cǎo
- 茅草máo cǎothatch grass; cogon grass草 = cǎo
- 草莽cǎo mǎngwild grassland; the common people (outside officialdom)草 = cǎo
Go deeper
All readings
grass
grass; straw; herb; (of writing) rough, draft
高等植物中的一类，通常茎干柔软矮小；也指草本植物做成的干草。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 草坪cǎo pínglawn; grass field草 = cǎo
- 草丛cǎo cónga clump of tall grass; the undergrowth草 = cǎo
- 艾草ài cǎomugwort草 = cǎo
- 茅草máo cǎothatch grass; cogon grass草 = cǎo
- 草莽cǎo mǎngwild grassland; the common people (outside officialdom)草 = cǎo
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 草 mean?
草 (cǎo) means grass; straw; herb; (of writing) rough, draft.
How do you pronounce 草?
It is pronounced cǎo.
What parts is 草 made of?
艹 (grass / plant radical) and 早 (early; morning), one above the other. The recorded source is: 说文解字「草，艸斗……从艸早聲」；现代字形拆分 ⿱艹早，对照 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「艹」，笔画 3–8 与「早」逐笔对应（3+6=9 画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 草 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 草?
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 草?
Common ones are 草坪 and 草丛. The reading of 草 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.