Meet 草 in words for grass and plants, from the garden to the mountains.

The idea

草 has 9 strokes; follow the linked stroke-order diagram. Its common readings include くさ and ソウ. Learn 草（くさ）, 雑草（ざっそう）, 野草（やそう） and 草履（ぞうり） as whole words.

Patterns to compare
Japanese wordReadingExample in context
草くさGrass is growing in the garden.
雑草ざっそうI pulled weeds in the garden.
野草やそうI picked herbs in the mountains.
草履ぞうりI put on straw sandals.

Examples

  • 庭にわに草くさが生はえています。Grass is growing in the garden.
  • 馬うまが草くさを食たべています。The horse is eating grass.
  • 庭にわの雑草ざっそうを抜ぬきました。I pulled weeds in the garden.
  • 草原そうげんに野のの花はなが咲さいています。Wildflowers bloom in the meadow.
  • 山やまで野草やそうを摘つみました。I picked herbs in the mountains.
  • 草履ぞうりを履はきました。I put on straw sandals.

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

草 alone usually means grass or herbs; 雑草 means weeds. 草履 is read ぞうり, so do not assume that 草 is always read くさ or そう.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 草 in hiragana.

    Show answer or example answer

    くさ

    草 is くさ: grass is growing in the garden.

  2. Write the reading of 雑草 in hiragana.

    Show answer or example answer

    ざっそう

    雑草 is ざっそう: the sentence describes pulling weeds.

  3. Choose the missing kanji: 野＿（やそう）［草／花］.

    Show answer or example answer

    草

    草 completes 野草（やそう）, wild plants; 花 would make a different word.

Use it today

Write 草 using the diagram. Cover the table, read 草 and 雑草, and make a sentence with one.