树

Tap the pinyin to hear it

tree; CL:棵[ke1]; to cultivate; to set up

Sound it out + =

Formation & memory

Break the character into parts you already know.

Phono-semantic compound (形声字)

木 meaning “tree” + 对 sound ( duì )

Components 木对

timber · Heisig RSH #643

木 tree + 对 that’s right

Keyword method from Heisig's Remembering Simplified Hanzi.

The most common words first — learning a character in context makes it stick.

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
树上开花	shù shàng kāi huā	to deck the tree with false blossoms; to make something of no value appear valuable (idiom…
无用之树	wú yòng zhī shù	useless person (originally from Zhuangzi's "A Happy Excursion" 逍遙遊\|逍遥游)
生成树	shēng chéng shù	spanning tree (in graph theory)
行道树	xíng dào shù	roadside tree; street tree
树林市	Shù lín shì	Shulin city in New Taipei City 新北市[Xin1 bei3 shi4], Taiwan
家族树	jiā zú shù	a family tree
小树林	xiǎo shù lín	grove
石南树	shí nán shù	heath
树人	shù rén	to prepare children to become capable citizens
小树	xiǎo shù	shrub; small tree; sapling; CL:棵[ke1]
百年树人	bǎi nián shù rén	(idiom) it takes many years to raise children to be upstanding citizens
铁树开花	tiě shù kāi huā	lit. the iron tree blooms (idiom); a highly improbable or extremely rare occurrence
红树林	hóng shù lín	mangrove forest or swamp
面包树	miàn bāo shù	breadfruit tree; Artocarpus altilis
十年树木，百年树人	shí nián shù mù , bǎi nián shù rén	(idiom) it takes ten years to grow trees, but a hundred years to cultivate people
红树	hóng shù	red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle); CL:棵[ke1]
龙血树	lóng xuè shù	dragon tree; Dracaena (botany)
金鸡纳树	jīn jī nà shù	Cinchona ledgeriana, tree whose bark contains quinine
火树银花	huǒ shù yín huā	display of fireworks and lanterns
龙树	Lóng shù	Nāgārjuna (c. 150-250 AD), Buddhist philosopher

Characters sharing the sound component 对 — compare how they read.

Character	Pinyin	Meaning
对 sound part	duì	correct, right; facing, opposed
怼	duì	hatred, resentment; to dislike, to hate