a wild plant with leaves that have pointed edges, are covered in fine hairs and sting (= cause you pain) if you touch them 荨麻 
The nettles had spread and now covered half the garden. 荨麻向四周曼延，已经遍及半个花园了。
Extra ExamplesTopics Plants and treesc2The butterflies lay their eggs on nettles. 蝴蝶在荨麻上产卵。 There was an old car half buried in the nettles. 有辆旧车半掩在荨麻丛里。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- stinging
- clump
- patch
- grow
- sting
- in nettles
Word OriginOld English netle, netele, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch netel and German Nessel. The verb dates from late Middle English.
Idioms
grasp the nettle
- (British English)
to deal with a difficult situation without hesitating 果断地处理棘手问题 The government now has the opportunity to grasp the nettle of prison reform. 政府现在有机会掌握监狱改革的精妙之处。