桐 meaning and stroke order
Chinese wood-oil tree, Vernicia fordii
How to write 桐, stroke by stroke
10 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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- 10
Meaning of 桐
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- tree name (variously Paulownia, Firmiana or Aleurites)
How 桐 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Tree.
木 gives the meaning and 同 hints at the sound.
Radical: 木 (tree), shared by 388 characters on this site.
How to remember 桐
桐 (tóng) is a tree 木 on the left with 同 (tóng) on the right giving the sound. Picture a row of trees that all look the same 同, and you have the tóng tree.
桐 names several trees, including the tung oil tree, the paulownia, and the Chinese parasol tree, and it mostly appears in compounds like 梧桐 (wútóng) and 油桐 (yóutóng). It also shows up in place names and given names. Example: 院子里有一棵梧桐。(Yuànzi lǐ yǒu yì kē wútóng.) There is a parasol tree in the courtyard.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes confuse 桐 with 铜 (tóng, copper), which has the same sound and the same right side but the metal radical 钅 instead of 木. Remember that trees get 木 and metals get 钅.
Common words with 桐
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 桐人 | tóngrén | puppet burial object; wooden effigy buried to put a curse on sb |
Questions about 桐
How many strokes are in 桐?
桐 is written with 10 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 桐 mean?
桐 (tóng) means Chinese wood-oil tree, Vernicia fordii. A common word with it is 桐人 (tóngrén), meaning "puppet burial object; wooden effigy buried to put a curse on sb".
How do you pronounce 桐?
桐 is pronounced tóng, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 桐?
The radical of 桐 is 木, which carries the idea of "tree". Dictionaries list 桐 under this radical.
What is the difference between 梧桐 and 油桐?
梧桐 (wútóng) is the Chinese parasol tree, famous in poetry and as a street tree. 油桐 (yóutóng) is the tung oil tree, grown for the oil pressed from its seeds.
Is 桐 used on its own in everyday speech?
Rarely. People usually say a full compound like 梧桐 or 泡桐 (pàotóng, paulownia), and 桐 alone is more common in names and written Chinese.