柔荑

Chinese

		soft	to weed; (grass)
trad. (柔荑)		柔	荑
simp. #(柔荑)		柔	荑

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): róutí

  (Zhuyin): ㄖㄡˊ ㄊㄧˊ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): jau⁴ tai⁴

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: róutí
    • Zhuyin: ㄖㄡˊ ㄊㄧˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: róutí
    • Wade–Giles: jou²-tʻi²
    • Yale: róu-tí
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: routyi
    • Palladius: жоути (žouti)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʐoʊ̯³⁵ tʰi³⁵/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: jau⁴ tai⁴
    • Yale: yàuh tàih
    • Cantonese Pinyin: jau⁴ tai⁴
    • Guangdong Romanization: yeo⁴ tei⁴
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /jɐu̯²¹ tʰɐi̯²¹/

Noun

柔荑

1. (literary) bud of the cogon grass (Imperata cylindrica)

   • 手如柔荑。膚如凝脂。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad.]
     手如柔荑。肤如凝脂。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, simp.]

     From: The Classic of Poetry, c. 11^th – 7^th centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version

     Shǒu rú róutí. Fū rú níngzhī. [Pinyin]

     Her fingers were like the blades of the young white-grass;
     Her skin was like congealed ointment;

2. (literary, by extension) bud; shoot
3. (literary, figurative) soft and beautiful hand of a woman

Derived terms

• 手如柔荑
• 柔荑花序