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桐 (tóng) — (bound form) Chinese parasol tree; paulownia; tung tree

Definition

A bound morpheme referring to the paulownia / Chinese parasol tree. It almost always appears inside the compound 梧桐 (wú tóng, 'paulownia') — rarely used alone.

bound form
Chinese parasol treepaulowniatung tree

Examples

  • 桐。
    Zhè kē wú tóng yǐ jīng yǒu shí nián le.
    This parasol tree is already ten years old.
  • 桐。
    tóng Yóu kě yǐ yòng lái zuò jiā jù.
    Tung oil can be used to make furniture.
  • 桐。
    Qiū tiān wú tóng de yè zi biàn huáng le.
    In autumn, the leaves of the parasol tree turn yellow.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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mùtree
Sound part声符shēngfú
同
同tóng桐tóng
Same sound today

桐 shows 木, a tree, next to 同, which gives the sound.

Appears in
Trees & Forest

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