Chinese character 藒

A character used in the classical plant name 藒車.

The early Chinese dictionary 《爾雅》 lists 藒車 beside 芞輿. The poem 《離騷》 names it among fragrant herbs; 《上林賦》 also lists it. Classical sources describe the plant as fragrant and used to repel insects and scent clothes.

The alternate spelling 揭車 uses 揭 in place of 藒. Taiwan’s Ministry of Education dictionary gives qiè; other dictionaries give qì. In Mandarin Pinyin, qiè sounds roughly “chyeh” and qì “chee”; Pinyin q is a breathy “ch,” and both readings use a falling tone.