木 mù tree
tree; wood; lumber
How it came to be
A tree trunk with branches going up and roots going down. Both crossings are still there today.
How it is used
- Bound in modern speech - a single tree is 树 shù, not 木 alone; 木 mainly appears as a component in compounds meaning wood/timber.
- 木头 mùtou is the everyday word for a piece of wood/log, and colloquially calling a person 木头 (or 太木了 tài mù le) means they're slow to react or emotionally dense, like a "blockhead".
- 树木 shùmù (trees, collective), 木材 mùcái (lumber/timber as a resource), and 麻木 mámù (numb, both physically and emotionally) are the compounds worth knowing.
Characters built with 木
- 样 appearance
- 本 source
- 想 think about
- 机 machine
- 新 new
- 条 strip
- 校 school
- 床 bed
- 休 rest
- 桌 table
- 杯 cup
- 椅 chair
- 体 body
- 楼 building
- 相 mutual
- 根 measure word for long, thin things
- 极 extremely
- 查 to check
- 李 plum
- 树 tree
- 检 inspect
- 概 generally
- 楚 clear
- 板 board
- 箱 box
- 朵 a bloom
- 梯 ladder
- 格 form
- 亲 kin
- 林 wood
- 标 mark
- 案 file
- 杂 mixed
- 梦 to dream
- 困 sleepy
- 松 pine tree
- 材 timber
- 禁 to restrict
- 森 forest
- 麻 hemp
Words with 木
Example sentences
- 木头是很好的建筑材料。 Mùtou shì hěn hǎo de jiànzhù cáiliào.Wood is a very good construction material.