株 (zhū) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

株

zhū[zhu1]Tone 1

tree trunk, plant classifier, strain

HSK 7

Guru Deep Dive

English · tree trunk, plant classifier, strain

Cached lesson

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:10

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (木) should be narrower and slightly raised, while the right component (朱) is wider and balanced to give the character stability.

1. Meaning

tree trunk or stump

a living plantnumerical classifier for trees and plantsbiological strain or varietyto implicate or involve others in trouble

Noun & ClassifierNeutral#botany#nature#biology#legal/crime

Sample Usage

这棵树的树株很粗。
zhè kē shù de shù zhū hěn cū.
The trunk of this tree is very thick.
实验室培育出了新型病毒株。
shíyànshì péiyù chūle xīn xíng bìngdú zhū.
The laboratory cultivated a new strain of the virus.

2. Sound

/[ʈʂu⁵⁵]/Tone: 55

株

zhūzhu1

¯(55)

=zhū

Build the syllable

Step-by-step blending

zhu

Tone mark placement: Tone mark sits on "u" per main-vowel priority (a > e > o; in -iu/-ui the mark takes the second vowel).

Initial Consonant

Type: Unaspirated Retroflex

Sounds like: j/dr retroflex sound

UnaspiratedRetroflex

Airflow Tactile Test: No burst of air. Tongue curled up. Tissue stays still.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip curled back near hard palate

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -u vowel group

Sounds like: oo sound as in boot

Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'oo'.

Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.

Tone

T1 (55)

5 → 5 (55)

1st Tone (High-Flat)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 1 is a high, level pitch, similar to holding a single musical note at the top of your vocal range, like singing a sustained 'ah' when checking your voice.

👂

Listening trap: Mistaking retroflex zhū for dental-alveolar zū, or missing the retroflex tongue curling which makes it sound closer to an English 'jr' blend.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Hold your flat hand high and steady in the air, signaling an unwavering level horizon.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 10 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left radical (木) should be narrower and slightly raised, while the right component (朱) is wider and balanced to give the character stability.

4. Components

Radical 木 · Wood Radical (tree, wood)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 木 (Indicates trees, plants, or wooden objects)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 朱 (original sound: zhū)

Composed of the wood radical (木) on the left, indicating a tree, combined with the vermilion/red component (朱) on the right, which provides the pronunciation.

木 Tree or wood semantic indicator
朱 Vermilion phonetic indicator

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

14· Phonetic Root: 朱 (zhū)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally formed to depict the base part of a tree where the trunk meets the roots, later generalized to mean tree trunks, stumps, and plant units.

Semantic Evolution: From the physical base of a tree (stump/trunk), it expanded to become a counting unit for plants, then extended into biology for pathogen strains, and even metaphorically to implicating others (root and branch).

The idiom '守株待兔' (waiting by a stump for a rabbit) immortalized the character zhū in Chinese literature.

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: シュ / Kun: 株

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

주

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

Picture a **WOOD** (木) tree that has been marked with a red **VERMILION** (朱) paint stripe right across its **TRUNK** (株).

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

朱

zhūsurname Zhu; vermilionPhonetic Core (声旁)

殊

shūdifferent, special, very+ 歹 (death)

珠

zhūpearl+ 王 (jade)

侏

zhūdwarf+ 亻 (person)

Explore this family →

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

珠(zhū)

珠 has the jade/king radical (王) for shiny pearls, whereas 株 has the wood radical (木) for trees and plant trunks.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

农民伯伯在田里种了十几___苹果树。

Clue: zhū

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the classifier 株 (zhū) with other plant or long object classifiers like 棵 (kē) or 条 (tiáo), or confusing the character with its homophone 珠 (zhū).

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see the character 株, what is its primary botanical meaning and how is it used as a classifier?

Production: How do you write the character for a tree trunk/plant classifier (zhū) using the wood radical and phonetic component?

株zhūtree trunk, plant classifier, strain

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