(shù) - tree in Mandarin
shùTraditional: 樹
Translation
tree
Word origin
A phono-semantic character combining 木 (mù, wood or tree) with 尌 (shù, phonetic); the earliest sense was to plant, and the standing tree came later.
- Origin
- phono-semantic
- Root
- 木 (wood radical) + 尌 (shù, phonetic)
Stroke order
树
Examples
棵。
There is a big tree by the gate.
。
These trees were planted last year.
。
The children like climbing trees.
秋叶。
In autumn the leaves on the trees turn yellow.
。
A lot of trees have been planted in the park.
树 (shù) is the living tree. Its measure word is 棵, so one tree is 一棵树 and a row of them is 一排树. Use 树 for the plant standing in the ground and 木头 for the material once it has been cut, because Mandarin splits those two where English lets wood and tree overlap.
Position words attach to it the usual way: 树上 in the tree, 树下 under the tree, 树后 behind it. English says up a tree and in a tree with different prepositions; Mandarin does the lot with 上, so a bird, a leaf and a child are all 在树上.
The character also survives as a verb meaning to establish, visible in 树立 to set up an example and 建树 an achievement. You will not need to produce that yourself, but it explains why a word for tree keeps turning up in newspaper prose about setting standards.
Where this fits
Used in
Grammar articles
(1)Add to review queue
Track this word in your spaced-repetition queue and be tested on it at the right interval.
Go to my review queueMandarin · Free printables
树: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "树" (tree): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
Free for members
The printable worksheets, infographics and PDFs are free with an account. Start a free week and download as many as you like.
Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 51.