葵 (kuí) is a Chinese character meaning “sunflower (as in 葵花, 向日葵)”. It is written from 艹 (grass / plant radical) and 癸 (the tenth Heavenly Stem), one above the other, and takes 12 strokes.
Build the character for “sunflower”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
艹 + 癸
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: 说文解字：葵，菜也。从艸，癸聲。现代字形拆分对照 hanzi-writer-data 12 笔核验：艹 3 笔 + 癸 9 笔
Memory aid
Grass (艹) on top of 癸, the last of the ten Heavenly Stems: picture the tallest plant at the end of the row — a sunflower turning to the sun.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
12 strokes
In real words
- 葵花kuí huāsunflower葵 = kuí
- 向日葵xiàng rì kuísunflower葵 = kuí
Go deeper
All readings
sunflower; mallow
sunflower (as in 葵花, 向日葵); also mallow-type plants
指向日葵一类植物；古代也指冬葵等葵类蔬菜。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 葵花kuí huāsunflower葵 = kuí
- 向日葵xiàng rì kuísunflower葵 = kuí
Sound component
癸 family onset shift
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 葵 mean?
葵 (kuí) means sunflower (as in 葵花, 向日葵); also mallow-type plants.
How do you pronounce 葵?
It is pronounced kuí.
What parts is 葵 made of?
艹 (grass / plant radical) and 癸 (the tenth Heavenly Stem), one above the other. The recorded source is: 说文解字：葵，菜也。从艸，癸聲。现代字形拆分对照 hanzi-writer-data 12 笔核验：艹 3 笔 + 癸 9 笔. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 葵 have?
12. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 葵?
艸. 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 葵?
Common ones are 葵花 and 向日葵. The reading of 葵 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.