芽

yá
#2,731 most
frequent character
bud, sprout

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

芽 pairs 艹 plants with 牙 yá, which supplies the sound. The first sense was a plant's new growth, able to become a stem, leaf, or flower. That narrowed to 'bud, sprout'.

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Homophones

牙yá
tooth, ivory, tooth-like thing

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