葦

Core sense: reed (tall, perennial wetland grasses). May serve as a metonym for riparian environments, marshes, or riverbanks. In contexts involving Central Asian or Western contact, may refer to the reed pen (//calamus//). Associated with material culture such as screens and mats.

Functions almost exclusively as a noun; no established verbal applications.

Often used interchangeably with 芦 (//lú//), though in descriptive texts they may represent distinct species. Where both appear, check for distinctions based on utility (weaving vs. piping) or species.

Simplified variant: 苇.

The glyph is stable. Variants that replace the grass radical (艹) should be scrutinized as likely scribal errors or obscure regionalisms.

Commonly evokes poetic connotations of fragility, flexibility, and survival through yielding.