萌 méng bud
bud; germ; sprout
How to remember 萌: 艹 grass + 明 bright = bud. The girl kneels in the wet grass after a week of bright sun and shouts that her seed has a bud, whatever it is called.
Component breakdown
萌 = 艹 grass + 明 bright
- 艹 grass
- 明 bright
- 日 sun
- 月 moon
The girl kneels in the wet grass after a week of bright sun and shouts that her seed has a bud, whatever it is called.
How it is used
- Core sense 'to bud / sprout', literal and figurative - 萌芽 (méngyá) to germinate or (of an idea/movement) be in its nascent stage, 萌发 (méngfā) to sprout, 萌生 (méngshēng) an idea starting to form.
- Note the modern slang 萌 (méng, cute/adorable), borrowed from Japanese, common online - 好萌 (hǎo méng) so cute. Very different register from the literary 'sprout' sense.