草 cǎo — grass; straw; draft (of a document); careless; rough; manuscript
小羊在草地上吃草。Xiǎo yáng zài cǎo dì shàng chī cǎo.The little sheep eat grass on the meadow.
Common words: 草地 (cǎo dì)、草原 (cǎo yuán)、起草 (qǐ cǎo)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "rough"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "rough", including 草 (cǎo), 粗 (cū), 蛮 (mán). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms, common words…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "rough" covers 3 different Chinese characters — 草 (cǎo), 粗 (cū), 蛮 (mán) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 3 characters do not share a sound — their readings span cǎo, cū, mán — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 草 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 草 cǎograss; straw; draft (of a document); careless; rough; manuscriptUseful words: 草地, 草原
- 粗 cūcoarse; rough; thick; unfinished; vulgar; rudeUseful words: 粗心, 粗鲁
- 蛮 mánbarbarian; bullying; very; quite; rough; recklessUseful words: 野蛮, 蛮子
Common words for these 3 "rough" characters
Anchor each of these 3 characters in a word you can picture — start with 草 (cǎo) — so "rough" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
草地cǎo dìlawn; meadow; sod; turf草原cǎo yuángrassland; prairie起草qǐ cǎoto make a draft; to draw up (plans)粗心cū xīncareless; thoughtless粗鲁cū lǔcoarse; crude (in one's manner); boorish粗糙cū cāocrude; gruff; rough; coarse野蛮yě mánbarbarous; uncivilized蛮子mán zibarbarian; slave servant; (old) contemptuous term for people from southern China (used by northern Chinese people)蛮力mán lìbrute force
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 3 ways to say "rough".
粗 cū — coarse; rough; thick; unfinished; vulgar; rude
这棵大树的树干又粗又壮。Zhè kē dà shù de shù gàn yòu cū yòu zhuàng.The trunk of this big tree is thick and sturdy.
Common words: 粗心 (cū xīn)、粗暴 (cū bào)、粗略 (cū lüè)
蛮 mán — barbarian; bullying; very; quite; rough; reckless
这道题蛮难的，我做了好久。Zhè dào tí mán nán de, wǒ zuò le hǎo jiǔ.This problem is quite hard; I worked on it for a long time.
Common words: 野蛮 (yě mán)、蛮子 (mán zi)、蛮力 (mán lì)
All 3 characters
Open 草、粗、蛮 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.