茄 (qié) is a Chinese character meaning “eggplant (aubergine)”. It is written from 艹 (grass / plant radical) and 加 (to add; to increase), one above the other, and takes 8 strokes. It has a second reading, jiā, which turns up in 雪茄 — here the two readings are two separate things to learn, not one card with two answers.
Build the character for “eggplant”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
艹 + 加
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: 说文解字·艸部：茄，芙蕖莖。从艸加聲（对照 hanzi-writer-data 8 笔核验：艹 3 笔 + 加 5 笔）
Memory aid
Grass (艹) on top marks a plant; 加 underneath is the sound part — add (加) a plant top to jiā and you get qié, the eggplant.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 茄子qié zieggplant; aubergine茄 = qié
- 番茄fān qiétomato茄 = qié
Go deeper
All readings
eggplant
eggplant (aubergine); used in vegetable names such as 番茄 (tomato)
茄子，一种紫色的常见蔬菜；也用于「番茄」等蔬菜名称。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 茄子qié zieggplant; aubergine茄 = qié
- 番茄fān qiétomato茄 = qié
Rare readings, not taught: jiā
Sound component
加 family onset shift
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 茄 mean?
茄 (qié) means eggplant (aubergine); used in vegetable names such as 番茄 (tomato).
How do you pronounce 茄?
Its main reading is qié. It also has a second reading, jiā, which only shows up in certain words such as 雪茄 — so the word tells you the reading, not the character on its own.
Why is 茄 sometimes pronounced jiā?
Because it is a multi-reading character: each reading carries a different sense, and the word decides which one applies. In 雪茄 it is read jiā.
What parts is 茄 made of?
艹 (grass / plant radical) and 加 (to add; to increase), one above the other. The recorded source is: 说文解字·艸部：茄，芙蕖莖。从艸加聲（对照 hanzi-writer-data 8 笔核验：艹 3 笔 + 加 5 笔）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 茄 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 茄?
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 茄?
Common ones are 茄子 and 番茄. The reading of 茄 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.