灌木 (guàn mù) — bush; shrub

Definition

noun
bushshrub
Measure word ·

Examples

  • 灌木
    Zhè jiā huā yuán lǐ zhǒng le hěn duō guàn mù.
    This garden has many shrubs planted in it.
  • 灌木
    guàn mù De gāo dù tōng cháng bù chāo guò sān mǐ.
    The height of shrubs is usually no more than three meters.
  • 灌木
    Tā zài yuàn zi biān yuán zhǒng le yì pái guàn mù.
    He planted a row of shrubs along the edge of the yard.

Origin

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.

tree

灌木 joins 灌 (bushy) and 木 (tree) to name a low, bushy woody plant.

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
shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
guànguàn
Same sound today

灌 pairs its water part with 雚, which gives the character its sound.

Open 灌 →

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.

Open 木 →

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