竹 zhú bamboo
How it came to be
Two stalks of bamboo side by side, each with its leaves hanging down from the top of the stem.
用法
- Noun "bamboo", mostly bound in compounds; the free everyday noun is 竹子 (zhúzi).
- 爆竹 (bàozhú) "firecracker" literally means "exploding bamboo", from the old practice of burning bamboo to make loud pops.
- 胸有成竹 (xiōngyǒuchéngzhú) "to have a well-formed plan in mind" is a vivid idiom - literally "already having a bamboo (painting) complete in one's chest", from painters who visualize the whole bamboo before drawing a stroke.