铁木 (tiě mù) — ironwood (the hard, heavy wood of certain trees…

Definition

noun

ironwood (the hard, heavy wood of certain trees, used in furniture and construction)

Measure word · 块

铁木，。
Zhè zhǒng tiě mù fēi cháng jiān yìng, shì hé zuò jiā jù.
This kind of ironwood is very hard, suitable for making furniture.
铁木，。
tiě mù De shù gàn hěn cū, xū yào duō nián cái néng zhǎng chéng.
The trunk of ironwood trees is very thick; it takes many years to grow.
铁木。
Tā yòng tiě mù diāo kè le yì zūn fó xiàng.
He carved a Buddha statue out of ironwood.

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.

铁 describes the hardness, and 木 names the 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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 鐵; 铁 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

金金jīnmetal

Sound part声符shēngfú

𢧤

𢧤𢧤鐵tiě

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

The traditional form 鐵 pairs 金 (metal) with 𢧤 as a sound part; the simplified 铁 is a later shorthand.

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.