藤

It is a phono-semantic compound, consisting of:

艸 (cho, “grass, plant radical”) as the semantic element;

滕 (deung, “to gush up, to rise”) as the phonetic element.

등나무 (藤-) – wisteria

등나무꽃 (藤花) – wisteria flower

등패 (藤牌) – rattan shield (historical, via Chinese usage)

Regional usage:

China (G): 藤 refers primarily to rattan, a strong, flexible palm used for making wicker furniture, baskets, and protective gear like 등갑 (rattan armor) and 등패 (rattan shields). The Korean “wisteria vine” is specifically called 多花紫藤 (multiflowered purple wisteria).

Korea (K): 藤 refers to the wisteria vine (등나무).

Japan (J): 藤 likewise refers to wisteria, and also functions broadly as a term for climbing/vining plants (e.g., 藤葛 read fujikazura). It is extremely common as a surname component (e.g., 佐藤 Satō, 藤村 Fujimura). It is read mainly as とう (tō), ふじ (fuji), and sometimes どう (dō) due to sound changes.

Taiwan (T): Same as in Chinese usage.

Vietnam (V): Also used in plant names.

籐 (U+7C50, radical 竹, 15 strokes, Cangjie: HBFE): a variant emphasizing the bamboo radical.

䕨 (U+4568, radical 艸, 16 strokes, Cangjie: TBFF): rare variant.

𦸝 (U+26E1D, radical 艸, 11 strokes, Cangjie: THDP): archaic variant.