榆树 (Yú shù) — elm tree | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

elm tree

Measure word · 棵

Examples

榆树。
Zhè kē Yú shù yǐ jīng huó le yì bǎi duō nián.
This elm tree has been alive for over a hundred years.
，榆树。
Qiū tiān de shí hou, Yú shù de yè zi huì biàn chéng jīn huáng sè.
In autumn, the leaves of the elm tree turn golden yellow.
榆树。
Běi fāng hěn duō chéng shì de jiē dào liǎng páng dōu zhǒng zhe Yú shù.
Many northern cities have elm trees planted along both sides of the streets.

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.

榆 means elm and 树 means tree, together an elm 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.

木俞榆

Meaning part形符xíngfú

木木mùtree

Sound part声符shēngfú

俞

俞yú榆yú

Same sound today

榆 is built from 木, a tree, and 俞, which gives the sound yú.

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.

Appears in

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