檀木 (tán mù) — sandalwood (fragrant wood used for incense, car…

Definition

noun

sandalwood (fragrant wood used for incense, carvings, and furniture)

Measure word · 块

檀木。
Zhè kuài tán mù diāo kè jīng měi.
This piece of sandalwood carving is exquisite.
檀木。
tán mù Shì yì zhǒng míng guì de mù cái.
Sandalwood is a precious type of wood.
檀木。
Tā diǎn rán le yì gēn tán mù xiāng.
She lit a sandalwood incense stick.

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.

檀tánsandalwood

檀 names sandalwood, and 木 means wood, so together they identify a fragrant wood.

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.

木亶檀

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

亶

亶dǎn檀tán

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

檀 combines 木, tree or wood, with 亶, which points to its sound.

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

木 is drawn as a tree, with branches above and roots below.