植 meaning and stroke order
Tree, plant; to grow
How to write 植, stroke by stroke
12 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
Meaning of 植
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to plant
How 植 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Tree.
木 gives the meaning and 直 hints at the sound.
Radical: 木 (tree), shared by 388 characters on this site.
How to remember 植
The left side 木 (mù, tree) tells you the meaning, and the right side 直 (zhí, straight) gives the sound. Picture planting a young tree so it stands up straight: 木 + 直 = 植 (zhí), to plant.
植 rarely appears alone in modern speech. It mostly lives in compounds like 植物 (zhíwù, plant) and 种植 (zhòngzhí, to grow crops). Example: 这里种植了很多水稻。(Zhèlǐ zhòngzhí le hěn duō shuǐdào.) A lot of rice is grown here.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 植 with 值 (zhí, value) and 殖 (zhí, breed), which share the same sound and the 直 part. Remember that 木 means plants, 亻 means people and worth, and 歹 appears in 繁殖 (fánzhí, to reproduce).
Common words with 植
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
植 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 植
How many strokes are in 植?
植 is written with 12 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 植 mean?
植 (zhí) means tree, plant; to grow. A common word with it is 植物 (zhíwù), meaning "plant; vegetation".
How do you pronounce 植?
植 is pronounced zhí, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 植?
The radical of 植 is 木, which carries the idea of "tree". Dictionaries list 植 under this radical.
Is 植 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 植 is part of the HSK 4 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 种 and 种植?
种 (zhòng) is the everyday spoken verb, as in 种花 (zhòng huā, to plant flowers). 种植 (zhòngzhí) is more formal and is common in news, farming and written texts.
Can 植 be used for medical or technical meanings?
Yes. 移植 (yízhí) means to transplant, including organ transplants, and 植入 (zhírù) means to implant, such as a device or chip. The idea of planting something into a place carries over.