柜 (guì) — cabinet; cupboard; chest (furniture)

Definition

bound form
cabinetcupboardchest (furniture)
Easily confused

Examples

  • 柜。
    Zhè jiàn wài tào zài guì lǐ guà zhe.
    This coat is hanging in the cabinet.
  • 。
    Shū guì lǐ fàng mǎn le gè zhǒng cān kǎo shū.
    The bookshelf is filled with all kinds of reference books.
  • 。
    Qǐng bǎ wén jiàn fàng zài wén jiàn guì lǐ.
    Please put the documents in the filing cabinet.

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
巨
巨jù柜
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

柜 combines 木 (tree) with 巨, which gives the sound.

Appears in
Furniture5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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