本 běn (bound form) root / stem / (bound form) origin / source / (bound form) one's own / this / (bound form) this / the current (year etc) / (bound form) original / (bound form) inherent / originally / initially / capital / principal / classifier for books, periodicals, files etc syn 根本 gēn běn fundamental / basic / root / simply / absolutely (not) / (not) at all / CL:個|个[ge4] syn 原因 yuán yīn cause / origin / root cause / reason / CL:個|个[ge4] syn 根 gēn root / basis / classifier for long slender objects, e.g. cigarettes, guitar strings / CL:條|条[tiao2] / radical (chemistry) syn 腐烂 腐爛 fǔ làn to rot / to putrefy / (fig.) corrupt syn 部位 bù wèi part (esp. of the body, but also of a vegetable, e.g. the root, or a garment, e.g. the sleeve, etc) syn 腐败 腐敗 fǔ bài corruption / to corrupt / to rot / rotten syn 平方 píng fāng square (as in square foot, square mile, square root) 腐蚀 腐蝕 fǔ shí corrosion / to corrode (degrade chemically) / to rot / corruption syn 根源 gēn yuán origin / root (cause) syn 铲除 剷除 chǎn chú to root out / to eradicate / to sweep away / to abolish syn 标本 標本 biāo běn specimen / sample / the root cause and symptoms of a disease 下体 下體 xià tǐ lower body / euphemism for genitals / root and stem of plants syn 甘草 gān cǎo licorice root 腐化 fǔ huà to rot / to decay / to become corrupt syn 扎根 zhā gēn to take root 斩草除根 斬草除根 zhǎn cǎo chú gēn to cut weeds and eliminate the roots (idiom) / to destroy root and branch / to eliminate completely syn 平方根 píng fāng gēn square root 助阵 助陣 zhù zhèn to cheer / to root for 祸根 禍根 huò gēn root of the trouble / cause of the ruin syn 除暴安良 chú bào ān liáng to root out the strong and give people peace (idiom) / to rob the rich and give to the poor syn 牙根 yá gēn root of tooth 莲藕 蓮藕 lián ǒu lotus root syn 词根 詞根 cí gēn (linguistics) root 治本 zhì běn to tackle a problem at its root / to effect a permanent solution (contrasted with 治標|治标[zhi4biao1]) syn 治标 治標 zhì biāo to treat only the symptoms but not the root cause 根目录 根目錄 gēn mù lù root directory 植根 zhí gēn to take root / to establish a base 病根 bìng gēn an incompletely cured illness / an old complaint / the root cause of trouble syn 舌根 shé gēn back of tongue / tongue root / dorsal 木香 mù xiāng costus root (medicinal herb) / aucklandia / Saussurea costus / Dolomiaea souliei syn 根底 gēn dǐ foundation / grounding / background / what lies at the bottom of sth / root / cause syn 白头翁 白頭翁 bái tóu wēng root of Chinese pulsatilla / Chinese bulbul 支部 zhī bù branch, esp. grass root branches of a political party syn 根系 gēn xì root system 除根 chú gēn to root out / to eliminate the roots / to cure once and for all syn 开方 開方 kāi fāng (medicine) to write out a prescription / (math.) to extract a root from a given quantity 根本原因 gēn běn yuán yīn root cause 防风 防風 fáng fēng to protect from wind / fangfeng (Saposhnikovia divaricata), its root used in TCM 黄芪 黃芪 huáng qí huangqi / milk vetch root (used in TCM) / Astragalus membranaceus or Astragalus mongholicus 白芷 bái zhǐ Dahurian angelica (Angelica dahurica) / root of Dahurian angelica (used in TCM) 党参 黨參 dǎng shēn poor man's ginseng (Codonopsis pilosula) / codonopsis root (used in TCM) syn 板蓝根 板藍根 bǎn lán gēn indigo woad root / root of Isatis tinctoria (used in TCM) 字根 zì gēn component of a Chinese character / (linguistics) word root / etymon 柴胡 chái hú Chinese thorowax (Bupleurum chinense) / root of Chinese thorowax (used in TCM) 何首乌 何首烏 hé shǒu wū Chinese knotweed (Polygonum multiflorum) / fleeceflower root 白芍 bái sháo root of herbaceous peony (Paeonia lactiflora), used in TCM 方根 fāng gēn (math.) root (as in "fourth root (∜)", 4次方根[si4ci4 fang1gen1]) syn 须根 須根 xū gēn fibrous root 丹皮 dān pí the root bark of the peony tree 根由 gēn yóu the whys and the wherefores / the detailed story / root cause syn 紫草 zǐ cǎo red root gromwell (Lithospermum erythrorhizon) / flowering plant whose roots provide purple dye / arnebia (plant genus in family Boraginaceae) 刺五加 cì wǔ jiā manyprickle (Acanthopanax senticosus), root used in TCM 牛膝 niú xī Achyranthes bidentata (root used in Chinese medicine) 霉烂 霉爛 méi làn mold / rot syn 玄参 玄參 xuán shēn Ningpo figwort (Scrophularia ningpoensis) / root of Ningpo figwort (used in TCM) syn 舍本逐末 捨本逐末 shě běn zhú mò to neglect the root and pursue the tip (idiom) / to neglect fundamentals and concentrate on details syn 沙参 沙參 shā shēn ladybell root (Radix adenophorae) syn 烂 爛 làn soft / mushy / well-cooked and soft / to rot / to decompose / rotten / worn out / chaotic / messy / utterly / thoroughly / crappy / bad syn 源 yuán root / source / origin syn 株 zhū tree trunk / stump (tree root) / a plant / classifier for trees or plants / strain (biology) / to involve others (in shady business) syn 藕 ǒu root of lotus syn 块根 塊根 kuài gēn root tuber / tuberous root 芷 zhǐ angelica (type of iris) / plant root used in TCM 腐坏 腐壞 fǔ huài to rot / to spoil / (fig.) to become corrupted 锄强扶弱 鋤強扶弱 chú qiáng fú ruò to root out the strong and support the weak (idiom) / to rob the rich and give to the poor syn 刨根 páo gēn lit. to dig up the root / to get to the heart of (the matter) 气根 氣根 qì gēn aerial root (botany) 侧根 側根 cè gēn lateral root (botany) 柢 dǐ foundation / root syn 本末倒置 běn mò dào zhì lit. to invert root and branch (idiom) / fig. confusing cause and effect / to stress the incidental over the fundamental / to put the cart before the horse syn 齿根 齒根 chǐ gēn root of tooth 立方根 lì fāng gēn cube root (math.) 蔸 dōu root and lower stem of certain plants / classifier for pieces and clumps syn 流水不腐 liú shuǐ bù fǔ flowing water does not rot syn 剪草除根 jiǎn cǎo chú gēn lit. cut grass and pull out roots (idiom) / fig. to destroy root and branch / to eradicate syn 直捣黄龙 直搗黃龍 zhí dǎo huáng lóng lit. to directly attack Huanglong / fig. to directly combat the root of a problem 颈腐病 頸腐病 jǐng fǔ bìng collar rot / crown rot 藁本 gǎo běn Ligusticum levisticum (Chinese lovage root) / ligusticum root 根服务器 根服務器 gēn fú wù qì root server / DNS root server 羌活 qiāng huó Notopterygium root (root of Notopterygium incisum) 平方平均数 平方平均數 píng fāng píng jūn shù root mean square (RMS) / quadratic root 红白埃森足球俱乐部 紅白埃森足球俱樂部 hóng bái āi sēn zú qiú jù lè bù Rot-Weiss 流水不腐，户枢不蠹 流水不腐，戶樞不蠹 liú shuǐ bù fǔ , hù shū bù dù lit. flowing water does not rot, nor a door-hinge rust (idiom) / fig. constant activity prevents decay 霉蠹 méi dù to become mildewed and worm-eaten (of books) / to mildew and rot 出头的椽子先烂 出頭的椽子先爛 chū tóu de chuán zi xiān làn lit. rafters that jut out rot first (idiom) / fig. anyone who makes himself conspicuous will be targeted for attack 本固枝荣 本固枝榮 běn gù zhī róng when the root is firm, the branches flourish syn 词缀剥除 詞綴剝除 cí zhuì bō chú affix stripping / to determine the root of a word by removing prefix and suffix 单位根 單位根 dān wèi gēn (math.) root of unity 二重根 èr chóng gēn a double root of an equation 代数学基本定理 代數學基本定理 dài shù xué jī běn dìng lǐ fundamental theorem of algebra (every polynomial has a complex root) 参薯 參薯 shēn shǔ Dioscorea alata (Kinampay or aromatic purple yam, a sweet root crop) 块菌 塊菌 kuài jūn truffle (edible root fungus) 宿根 sù gēn perennial root (botany) 实根 實根 shí gēn real root (of a polynomial) 川党 川黨 chuān dǎng Sichuan codonopsis (Codonopsis pilosula, root used in TCM) 川党参 川黨參 chuān dǎng shēn Sichuan codonopsis (Codonopsis pilosula, root used in TCM) 巴戟 bā jǐ morinda root (Morinda officinalis), plant used in Chinese medicine 怸 xī obscure variant of 悉[xi1] / Achyranthes bidentata, a root used in Chinese medicine, equivalent to 牛膝[niu2 xi1] 