Chinese character 薵

It names grass and carries two older action senses.

The Mandarin readings of 薵 appear in pinyin, its Latin-letter spelling: chóu (“choh,” rising tone) and zhòu (“joh,” falling tone). The Western Han poem 七發 uses 薵蓼 for two plants in clear water; the old dictionary 《博雅》 glosses 薵 as 藸蔥, a scallion-like plant. The Han-era lexicon 方言 also records “cover” and “wear on the head.” 艹 is the grass component; 壽 supplies sound.