乔木 (qiáo mù) — arbor (tall tree with a distinct trunk and branches, as opposed to a shrub)

Definition

A '乔木' is a tree with a single tall main trunk and a raised crown — the technical term contrasted with 灌木 (shrub), which has multiple low stems. The 1-vs-many trunk pattern is the key distinction.

noun
arbor (tall tree with a distinct trunk and branches, as opposed to a shrub)
Measure word · 棵

Examples

  • 乔木。
    Gōng yuán lǐ yǒu hěn duō gāo dà de qiáo mù.
    There are many tall trees in the park.
  • 乔木。
    Zhè zhǒng qiáo mù de yè zi dào le qiū tiān jiù huì biàn hóng.
    The leaves of this kind of tree turn red in autumn.
  • 乔木。
    qiáo mù Hé guàn mù de qū bié zài yú shì fǒu yǒu míng xiǎn de zhǔ gàn.
    The difference between trees and shrubs is whether they have a clear main trunk.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

乔qiáotall
木mùtree

“乔” and “木” combine to mean a tall tree with a distinct trunk.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 喬; 乔 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 喬 was built by adding a distinguishing mark to an older character for 'tall'; the simplified 乔 is just a later shorthand.

Open 乔 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

木 is drawn as a tree, with branches above and roots below.

Open 木 →

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