杉木 (shā mù) — China fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata) | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

China fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata)

Measure word · 棵

Examples

杉木。
Zhè zhǒng shā mù de mù cái hěn nài yòng.
This kind of China fir timber is very durable.
杉木。
Tā men yòng shā mù jiàn zào le yí zuò mù wū.
They built a wooden house using China fir.
杉木。
shā mù Shì zhōng guó nán fāng cháng jiàn de shù zhǒng.
China fir is a common tree species in southern China.

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.

“杉” names the fir and “木” names the tree, so the word means fir tree.

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.

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.

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.

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.