HSK Guide

shùa tree; to plant, to set upright; to establish, to cultivate

shù (fourth tone, falling)

繁体:

a tree; to plant, to set upright; to establish, to cultivate

9 画部首 词频 #451

拼音

  • shù (fourth tone, falling)

a tree; to plant, to set upright; to establish, to cultivate

字形拆解

Ideographic description

⿲木又寸The sequence reads left to right and describes how the parts are arranged.

Mnemonic

Three columns: the tree 木, a shorthand element, and a hand 寸. The verb came first — to set a sapling upright in the ground — and the noun followed, which is why 树 still means both. 大树 a big tree, 树林 a wood, 种树 to plant trees, and figuratively 树立, to set up an example.

A memory aid written by HSK Guide editors. It is not an etymology and does not describe the historical origin of the character.