茂盛
mào shèng · HSK 7
lush
🌿🌳 茂盛 = 茂 (dense/leafy) + 盛 (flourishing/abundant) = plants growing lush
Both characters carry a grass radical idea of vigorous growth: 茂 means dense leafy foliage, 盛 means flourishing or abundant. Stacked together they describe vegetation that is thick and thriving. Sound hook: shèng overlaps with 'sheng' in 'rising', fitting growth shooting up.
盛 — 成 (chéng, phonetic) + 皿 (vessel)
A phono-semantic compound: 皿 (a dish or vessel) gives the meaning, while 成 supplies the sound. The original sense was grain heaped into a ritual vessel as an offering, hence 'to fill' or 'contain' (chéng). From 'full to the brim' it extended to 'abundant, flourishing, prosperous' (shèng).