木柱 (mù zhù) — wooden pillar; wooden post

Definition

noun

wooden pillarwooden post

Measure word · 根

木柱。
Zhè zuò gǔ miào de mù zhù yǐ jīng yǒu hǎo jǐ bǎi nián le.
The wooden pillars of this ancient temple are already several hundred years old.
木柱。
Gōng rén men zhèng zài yòng mù zhù zhī chēng wū dǐng.
The workers are using wooden pillars to support the roof.
木柱。
Zhè xiē mù zhù shì yòng shàng hǎo de mù cái zhì chéng de.
These wooden pillars are made of fine wood.

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.

木 means wood and 柱 means pillar, so together they describe a pillar made of wood.

Characters in this word

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.

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

木主柱

Meaning part形符xíngfú

木木mùwood

Sound part声符shēngfú

主

Same sound today

The left part 木 shows that 柱 is connected with wood. The right part 主 gives the pronunciation.