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柱子 (zhù zi) — pillar; post (structural)

Definition

A concrete, physical pillar or post (measured with 根). 支柱, 脊梁, and 栋梁 are mostly figurative 'backbones' of people or institutions, not actual columns.

noun
pillarpost (structural)
Measure word · 根

Examples

  • 柱子。
    Zhè zuò jiàn zhù yóu bā gēn zhù zi zhī chēng.
    This building is supported by eight pillars.
  • 柱子。
    Māo duǒ zài zhù zi hòu miàn shuì zháo le.
    The cat hid behind the pillar and fell asleep.
  • 柱子。
    Lǎo fáng zi de zhù zi yǐ jīng yǒu xiē liè le.
    The pillars of the old house have already developed some cracks.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

柱zhùpillar
子zǐsuffix

柱 gives the sense of pillar, and 子 makes it the everyday word for a pillar.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mùwood
Sound part声符shēngfú
主
主zhǔ柱zhù
Same sound today

The left part 木 shows that 柱 is connected with wood. The right part 主 gives the pronunciation.

Open 柱 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

子 is drawn as a baby with a large head, arms stretched out, and legs wrapped in a blanket.

Open 子 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Buildings & Structures

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