蓼
luxurious grass, a smartweed
Readings
On'yomi
- シン
- リク
- リョウ
Kun'yomi
- たで
Meaning
蓼 centers on a specific kind of plant: a smartweed, often described as a luxurious or lush grass. The two given meanings point to the same weedy plant rather than separate concepts.
Most common words using 蓼
- 蓼たで
knotweed (Polygonaceae); jointweed; smartweed
- 大毛蓼おおけたで
kiss-me-over-the-garden-gate (Persicaria orientalis); prince's feather
- 川蓼かわたで
water pepper (Persicaria hydropiper f. aquaticum)
- 木天蓼もくてんりょう
silver vine (used in traditional Chinese medicine)
- 柳蓼やなぎたで
water pepper (Persicaria hydropiper)
- 水蓼みずたで
water pepper (Persicaria hydropiper)
- 紅蓼べにたで
water pepper (Persicaria hydropiper f. purpurascens)
- 蓼藍たであい
dyer's knotweed (Persicaria tinctoria, used to produce indigo dye)
- 蓼酢たでず
water pepper vinegar; vinegar infused and mixed with water pepper leaves, esp. served with salt-grilled sweetfish
- 蓼食う虫も好き好きたでくうむしもすきずき
some prefer nettles; there's no accounting for taste; every man to his taste
- 藍蓼あいたで
dyer's knotweed (Persicaria tinctoria, used to produce indigo dye)
Study
Etymology
蓼 combines the grass radical 艹 with 翏, which likely provides the sound. The character refers to a specific plant, smartweed, and the historical development of the phonetic component is uncertain.
Meaning mnemonic
The top 艹 shows it's a plant, and the bottom 翏 looks like feathers (羽) with extra strokes, like a lush, feathery weed. Picture a field of smartweed with feathery plumes.
Reading mnemonic
For シン, imagine a thin, luxurious grass that looks like a shin-high carpet: shin -> シン, and the smartweed grows in a dense, lush patch.