萌芽

méngyá
  1. (of a seed) to germinate
  2. (of a plant) to sprout; to bud
  3. sprout; bud
  4. (also used figuratively)

CEDICT

Entry Composition

1 萌 méng
  1. (bound form) to sprout; to bud
  2. (coll.) cute; adorable (orthographic borrowing from Japanese 萌え "moe", affection for an anime or manga character)
  3. variant of 氓 méng
2 芽 yá
  1. bud
  2. sprout