云杉 (yún shān) — spruce (tree of the genus Picea)

Definition

noun

spruce (tree of the genus Picea)

Measure word · 棵

云杉。
Shān shàng zhǎng mǎn le yún shān.
The mountain is covered with spruce trees.
云杉。
Zhè zhǒng yún shān de mù cái hěn jiē shi.
The wood of this kind of spruce is very sturdy.
云杉。
Gōng yuán lǐ zhǒng le hěn duō yún shān.
Many spruce trees are planted in the park.

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.

云 means cloud and 杉 means fir; the name evokes a tall fir reaching toward clouds.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 雲; 云 is its simplified writing.

雨云雲

The traditional form 雲 is 雨 (rain) plus 云; 云 was the original writing for 'cloud', and 雨 was added to separate it from the borrowed sense 'to say'.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

木彡杉

Meaning part形符xíngfú

木木mùtree

Sound part声符shēngfú

彡

彡shān杉shā

Same sound today

杉 pairs 木 (tree) on the left with 彡 on the right, which gives the sound.