花卉

• Pinyin: huā huì
• Hanzi breakdown: 花 = 艹 + 化 — flower; 卉 = three 屮 components — a classical collective character for plants and grasses

Meaning

Flowers and ornamental plants collectively; flora used for decoration or appreciation. A formal or literary term for flowering plants.

Used in horticulture, botany, and art. 花卉展 (flower show or exhibition) is very common. Also appears in 花卉市场 (flower market) and 花卉种植 (flower cultivation).

Examples

1. 每年春天，城市公园都会举办大型花卉展览，吸引数十万市民前来参观欣赏。 Every spring, the city park holds a large flower exhibition, drawing hundreds of thousands of residents to visit and enjoy it.
2. 她的阳台上种满了各式各样的花卉，绿意盎然，成为整栋楼里最引人注目的一道风景。 Her balcony is filled with all kinds of flowers, lush and vibrant, making it the most eye-catching view in the whole building.
3. 学校的生物课带领学生系统学习本地常见花卉的识别方法及其生态价值。 In biology class, the school led students in a systematic study of how to identify common local flowering plants and their ecological value.

Usage Guide

Context: horticulture, botany, art, traditional culture

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 这家园艺公司专注于热带花卉的引进与培育，目前已经成功将超过两百种原产于东南亚的观赏植物驯化并推向国内市场。(This horticultural company specialises in the introduction and cultivation of tropical flowering plants, and has successfully domesticated and brought to the domestic market more than two hundred ornamental species native to Southeast Asia.)
• 传统中国画中，花卉题材历来是最受文人雅士青睐的创作主题之一，尤其是梅、兰、竹、菊这四君子，更是历代画家反复描绘的经典对象。(In traditional Chinese painting, floral subjects have always been one of the most favoured creative themes among scholars and literati, with the Four Gentlemen — plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum — being the classic subjects painted by artists across generations.)

Don't Say

• 花卉 in very casual speech when you simply mean 花 — 花卉 sounds formal; for everyday conversation, just say 花 or 植物

Origin & History

花 (flower) + 卉 (plants; grasses — a collective term for plants in classical Chinese) — flowers and plants collectively

Cultural Context

Era: Classical to Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal