薑
- ginger (the rhizome of Zingiber officinale);
Etymology
A phono-semantic compound.
Original form 䕬:
艸 (grass) — semantic component, indicating a plant
彊 (강) — phonetic component, supplying the sound
In the modern traditional form 薑, the phonetic element is 畺 (a reduced form related to 彊).
This reflects later graphic simplification within the traditional script tradition.
Usage in Korean
생강 (生薑) — ginger
Additional notes
Unlike 蒜 (garlic) or 蔥 (scallion), 薑/姜 refers specifically to the rhizome used as spice and medicine, not the leafy portion. It has early medicinal significance and long culinary history across East Asia.
Related characters (spices & plants):
姜 — ginger (simplified / modern standard)
蒜 — garlic
蔥 — scallion
椒 — pepper
藥 — medicine
Alternative forms
Regional notes:
Traditional Chinese / Classical texts: 薑
Simplified Chinese / Japanese: 姜
Hong Kong handwriting: sometimes abbreviated to 羌
Korean: 薑 appears in Hanja-based writing and dictionaries.
In Modern Chinese and Japanese, 姜 fully replaces 薑 in daily use.
姜 is classified as HSK Level 2, the traditional form 薑 itself is not tested separately in HSK.
Words that derived from 薑
- 廿一田一 (TMWM)
- ⿱ 艹 畺
Neighboring characters in the dictionary
