植树 (zhí shù) — to plant trees; to afforest

Definition

A formal verb meaning 'to plant trees', usually for forestry, greening, or environmental programs. Less common in everyday speech than 种树, which is the colloquial choice.

verb
to plant treesto afforest

Examples

  • 植树。
    Wǒ men míng tiān qù zhí shù ba.
    Let's go plant trees tomorrow.
  • 。
    Qù nián wǒ men zài shān shàng zhí le yì bǎi kē shù.
    Last year we planted a hundred trees on the mountain.
  • 。
    Tā cóng lái méi yǒu zhí guò shù.
    He has never planted trees.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

植zhíplant
树shùtree

植 (plant) plus 树 (tree) means to put trees into the ground.

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mùtree
Sound part声符shēngfú
直
直zhí植zhí
Same sound today

植 is made from 木, a tree, and 直, which gives the sound.

Open 植 →

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.

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.

Open 树 →

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