DICTIONARY · CC-CEDICT
荼
Mandarin · pinyin tú
Meanings
- thistle
- common sowthistle (Sonchus oleraceus)
- bitter (taste)
- cruel
- flowering grass in profusion
Characters in this entry
- 荼
- tú · thistle, sowthistle; bitter
Explore the spelling
Mandarin tones
2 · tu2
Compare attested words with these syllables ↗Dictionary tones. Connected speech can change their realization.
Connected dictionary
1character link30same-tone records
Counts describe dictionary records, not word frequency or semantic similarity. Source identities stay separate.Read this spelling in Classical texts
Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.
Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 7 senses · 4 Cantonese readings
Rime Cantonese 粵拼
caa4 · ce4 · syu1 · tou4
Cantonese word readings for 荼. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.
CanCLID contributors · CC BY 4.0 · source & license · Data pack
Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section
Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.
character
- (literary, archaic) synonym of 苦蕒 /苦荬 (kǔmǎi)
- (figurative) pain; suffering
- spikes of cogon, reed, or other grasses with long whitish hair
- pappus
- white
character
- a surname
character
- only used in 神荼 (Shēnshū)
Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source & license · Data pack