杨树 (yáng shù) — poplar tree | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

poplar tree

Measure word · 棵

Examples

杨树。
Zhè kē yáng shù yǐ jīng yǒu èr shí duō nián le.
This poplar tree is already over twenty years old.
，杨树。
Qiū tiān dào le, yáng shù de yè zi kāi shǐ biàn huáng.
Autumn has arrived, and the poplar leaves are starting to turn yellow.
杨树，。
Lù biān zhǒng le yì pái yáng shù, xià tiān hěn liáng kuai.
A row of poplars is planted by the roadside, making it cool in summer.

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.

杨yángpoplar

树shùtree

杨树 names a 树 of the 杨 kind.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 楊; 杨 is its simplified writing.

木昜楊

Meaning part形符xíngfú

木木mùtree, wood

Sound part声符shēngfú

昜

昜yáng楊yáng

Same sound today

The traditional form 楊 pairs 木 (tree, wood) with 昜, which gives the sound. The simplified 杨 is a later shorthand, so its right side is not the old sound part.

Open 杨 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 樹; 树 is its simplified writing.

木尌樹

Meaning part形符xíngfú

木木mùtree

Sound part声符shēngfú

尌

尌shù樹shù

Same sound today

Originally 尌, 'to plant a tree', was written alone; the traditional form 樹 adds 木, 'tree', to it to differentiate.

Open 树 →