树梢 (shù shāo) — treetop, tip of a tree

Definition

noun

treetoptip of a tree

Measure word · 个

树梢。
shù shāo Shàng yǒu yì zhī xiǎo niǎo.
There is a little bird on the treetop.
树梢。
Fēng chuī dòng le shù shāo.
The wind moved the treetop.
树梢。
Sōng shǔ zài shù shāo jiān tiào lái tiào qù.
The squirrel is jumping among the treetops.

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.

树 means tree and 梢 means tip, naming the uppermost part of a 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.

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.

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

木肖梢

Meaning part形符xíngfú

木木mùtree

Sound part声符shēngfú

肖

肖xiào梢shāo(r)

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

The left part of 梢 is 木, a tree; the right part is 肖, which gives the sound.

Appears in