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朽木 (xiǔ mù) — rotten wood (literal); hopeless case; a good-for-nothing (figurative)

Definition

A literal–figurative pair: 'rotten wood' used as a metaphor for a hopeless, useless person (朽木不可雕 — 'rotten wood cannot be carved'). Common in literary or critical contexts.

noun
rotten wood (literal)hopeless casea good-for-nothing (figurative)
Measure word · 块

Examples

  • 朽木。
    Zhè kuài xiǔ mù yǐ jīng bù néng yòng le.
    This piece of rotten wood is no longer usable.
  • ，朽木。
    Tā zuò shén me dōu bù xíng, zhēn shì xiǔ mù.
    He can't do anything right; he's really a hopeless case.
  • 朽木，。
    Lǎo shī jué de zhè ge xué shēng shì xiǔ mù, hěn nán jiào.
    The teacher thinks this student is a good-for-nothing and hard to teach.

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.

朽xiǔrotten
木mùwood

“朽” describes decayed wood, while “木” is wood, giving rotten wood.

Characters in this word

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mù
Sound part声符shēngfú
丂
丂kǎo朽xiǔ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

朽 pairs 木, a tree/wood, with 丂, which gives the sound. The 木 part connects it to wood.

Open 朽 →

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 →
Appears in
Materials & Substances

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