萌芽 méngyá to germinate
(of a seed) to germinate; (of a plant) to sprout; to bud; sprout; bud; also used figuratively
How to remember 萌芽: 萌 bud + 芽 bud = to germinate.
Characters
How it is used
- To bud / be in an embryonic stage - 处于萌芽阶段 (chǔyú méngyá jiēduàn) at the embryonic/nascent stage; 把危险消灭在萌芽状态 (bǎ wēixiǎn xiāomiè zài méngyá zhuàngtài) to nip danger in the bud.
- Both the literal sprout and, very commonly, the metaphor for the earliest stage of something.
- 消灭在萌芽状态 = to stop in the bud is a fixed, frequent phrase.