萌 (méng) is a Chinese character meaning “to sprout”. It is written from 艹 (grass / plant radical) and 明 (bright; clear), one above the other, and takes 11 strokes.
Build the character for “to sprout”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
艹 + 明
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: 说文解字：萌，艸芽也。从艸明聲（现代字形对照 hanzi-writer-data：3 笔艹 + 8 笔明 = 11 笔）
Memory aid
Grass (艹) growing up toward the bright light (明): a new sprout just breaking into the light. Both parts really are in this character, and 明 míng hints at the sound méng.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
11 strokes
In real words
- 萌芽méng yáto sprout; a sprout; the first beginnings of something萌 = méng
- 萌发méng fāto germinate; to sprout; to begin to emerge萌 = méng
Go deeper
All readings
to sprout
to sprout; to bud; to begin to appear
植物发芽；比喻事物刚刚开始发生。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 萌芽méng yáto sprout; a sprout; the first beginnings of something萌 = méng
- 萌发méng fāto germinate; to sprout; to begin to emerge萌 = méng
Sound component
明 family rime near
Easy to confuse with
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 萌 mean?
萌 (méng) means to sprout; to bud; to begin to appear.
How do you pronounce 萌?
It is pronounced méng.
What parts is 萌 made of?
艹 (grass / plant radical) and 明 (bright; clear), one above the other. The recorded source is: 说文解字：萌，艸芽也。从艸明聲（现代字形对照 hanzi-writer-data：3 笔艹 + 8 笔明 = 11 笔）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 萌 have?
11. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 萌?
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 萌?
Common ones are 萌芽 and 萌发. The reading of 萌 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.